Prosecutors probe alleged player tampering at Londrina in Série C | OneFootball

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraná, through the Londrina branch of the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), launched Operation Derby on Friday (12th), investigating possible attempts to entice athletes from Londrina Sports Club to manipulate matches in the Serie C of the Brazilian Championship. Two businessmen are the main suspects.

According to the MP-PR, the suspects offered R$ 15,000 to at least one of the athletes to receive a yellow card within the first 27 minutes of the match between Londrina and Maringá, played on April 26, at the Café Stadium. None of the approached athletes received a card in that match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, with a total of 10 yellow cards distributed.

“The approach to the players consisted of offering a monetary advantage for the player to commit a foul and receive or provoke a yellow card within the first 27 minutes of the match. The athletes rejected the proposal, and the investigations continue to confirm other possible attempts,” explained Jorge Fernando Barreto da Costa, prosecutor of Gaeco in Londrina.

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Londrina EC reinforced its commitment to sports integrity and highlighted the athletes' stance: “The athletes rejected the illicit proposal and immediately sought the board to report the malicious attitude. The club contacted CBF, the Paraná Football Federation and Gaeco. We express our deep respect and admiration for them,” the club stated in an official note.

Four search and seizure warrants and two personal search warrants were executed in Salvador (BA) and Itapema (SC), with the support of Gaeco from Bahia, the Shock Troop Battalion of the Bahia Military Police, and Gaeco from Santa Catarina.

The investigation began after the club reported the case to CBF, which passed the information to the Federal Police and Gaeco. Crimes against the uncertainty of sports results are provided for in the General Sports Law (Law 14.587/2023), with penalties ranging from two to six years in prison, in addition to a fine. Londrina stated that it will continue to cooperate with the authorities to ensure the integrity of the competitions and combat any attempt to manipulate results.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.