The football club El Porvenir, which currently plays in Argentina’s Primera C, has been exposed for a possible case of match-fixing in favor of a bookmaker. The complaint was confirmed by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), which guaranteed that it would deepen the investigation, but the name of the operator was not revealed.
The club is an affiliate member of the AFA and is therefore committed to the national body’s standards to ensure transparent and safe sporting development. According to reports, there are several players involved in the alleged rigged match.
“Our commitment to sporting ethics requires us to be adamant about these types of acts that tarnish our competitions, emphatically rejecting any conduct that would mean manipulating sporting results submitted to sports betting,” the AFA said.
Players denounced their own teammates to the AFA
Local newspaper Diario Sur reported that players were paid up to $3,000 “to score own goals or throw the ball in for a corner”. In addition, the report pointed out that the team’s leaders were responsible for filing a complaint with the AFA and the Police of Lanús, in the province of Buenos Aires, against four of their own teammates.
“Goalkeeper Diego Córdoba told us that his teammates were paid money to let them score goals and even for corners. There is talk of 100,000 pesos, although there are some who received only 12,000 pesos,” said Club El Porvenir lawyer Luis Parieti.
“I’ve never seen this in my life. It is very serious and at the club we cannot believe what has happened. We are very bad and we have already made the formal complaint and we will take the matter to the AFA Disciplinary Court”, he commented.
In this regard, Parieti explained that if the court finds more evidence against the players, “they will no longer be able to play football in Argentina or anywhere else in the world.”
