Jonatan Gómez admits gambling addiction as extortion claim dismissed and perjury inquiry weighed | OneFootball

Jonatan Gómez has revealed a gambling addiction from 2020 and a US$50,000 debt to an illegal platform. His legal case has taken a significant turn.

According to SuperDepor.com, the 36-year-old said he had lost everything and now wants calm and to rebuild family ties.

He said the habit began after returning from Brazil to join Argentinos Juniors, via online casino games shared by a team-mate on clandestine pages. Early wins led to bigger stakes, often on roulette, and his mood, finances and relationships suffered.

He says the crisis escalated when the US$50,000 fell due, with intimidation around places linked to him and his family. He maintains there were death threats, visits to his parents’ home and approaches while at Sarmiento de Junín. He says he was coerced into signing four promissory notes totalling US$505,000, later enforced in court, triggering freezes on properties, a vehicle and bank accounts.

He filed two complaints in San Lorenzo alleging extortion, threats and a plan to inflate the debt. A jurisdiction dispute ended when Rosario’s Criminal Chamber ordered the complaint to be investigated.

Prosecutor Aquiles Balbis has dismissed the extortion case, citing insufficient evidence and noting Gómez previously knew some of those named. The file has gone to prosecutor Luisina Paponi to weigh a possible false-testimony investigation, while one defence team is considering a damages suit.

Separate inquiries continue into how the clandestine platform worked, who ran it, how credit was issued and debts collected. The line of inquiry has weight because Gómez admits using an unauthorised system and borrowing to keep betting.

He says he has been trying for months to quit, has begun treatment and is unsure if he can resume his career. Football, he accepts, is no longer his main concern and he simply wants peace so his children see him happy.

Source: SuperDepor.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”