Senate Installs Parliamentary Inquiry Commission to Investigate Match-fixing in Brazilian Football

BRAZIL (April 11, 2024) — The Brazilian Senate took a crucial step in combating match-fixing in Brazilian football by installing, this Wednesday (10/04/2024), the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) of Sports Betting. Chaired by Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), the CPI has former player and current president of America (RJ), Senator Romário (PL-RJ), as its rapporteur.

The CPI, which arises in response to growing concerns about the integrity of football matches due to sports betting, will have up to 180 days to investigate allegations of match-fixing. Romário emphasized the importance of clarifying the harmful practices that have affected national sports:

‘People here definitely want to get everything out in the open, want to open the black boxes of these betting houses that exist in our country. Understand and know better what kind of manipulation has been happening and who are the authors and actors of these manipulations.’

The President of the CPI, Jorge Kajuru, scheduled meetings for Mondays and Wednesdays, demonstrating a commitment to exposing cases of match-fixing. The first meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday (17), when the committee will vote on the investigation’s work plan. Kajuru indicated that the president of Botafogo, John Textor, may be the first to appear before the CPI to present his match-fixing allegations.

The Sports Betting CPI is based on the report from the sport technology company SportRadar, which identified 109 matches of Brazilian football with suspicions of match-fixing in 2023. Senator Kajuru emphasized the importance of accessing this report and advocated for drastic measures against those involved in match-fixing:

‘We need to have access to know which were those 109 matches that that American company discovered…and the banning of the sport, forever, for those that the CPI can prove were involved in any manipulation.’

The vice presidency of the CPI went to Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), former president of Fortaleza football club. Girão emphasized the importance of the investigation in the face of threats to the integrity of Brazilian sports.

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SOURCE:  Azscore.