The Associated Press reports that the official who helped unearth an alleged Brazilian soccer match-fixing scandal isn’t sorry, even though it involved his beloved Vila Nova soccer club.
When Hugo Jorge Bravo first received information on what has grown to be a huge scandal, he didn’t hesitate before launching an investigation, even though he has been president of the club since 2020.
What he uncovered eventually led to the involvement of Brazilian federal police and the District Attorney of the state of Goias, and the lower house of the Chamber of Deputies. So far 15 players in multiple leagues have been charged, including two Vila Nova players. The players, Gabriel Domingos and Marcos Vinicius Alves Barreira, have both had their contracts terminated.
It is alleged that some players were offered between $10,000 to $20,000 to perform actions such as receiving yellow cards and giving away penalty kicks. These actions benefited certain sports bettors.
Bravo told the Associated Press: “It was my duty. From the get-go I said we would not just let it slide, I wanted to get to the bottom of this.” Bravo added, “I never thought this was going to be so big.”
Initially the investigation targeted three matches that Bravo investigated. Since then it has grown to include 11 games, with no end in sight.
Bravo’s interest was sparked when someone informed him that one of his club’s players was approached by gamblers to give a penalty to a rival team. However, the player sat out the game, causing the gamblers to threaten him.
Assistant District Attorney Fernando Cesconetto credits Bravo with igniting the investigation.
“If it weren’t for him there would be no investigation,” he told the AP. “What he did was brave. I never heard any club president doing what he did.”
Cesconetto added, “His investigation started at his own club, and without it we would not have gathered so much more in our probe.”
Of his own actions, Bravo says, “It was my duty, both as a policeman and a club chairman,” he said. “What could I have done differently?”
