The soccer player Marcos Vinícius Alves Barreira, known as Romário, should participate, this Tuesday, 20, in the session of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry in the Chamber of Deputies, the Sports Betting CPI.
The athlete’s involvement was investigated in the first phase of the Maximum Penalty operation, carried out by the Public Ministry of Goiás (MP-GO) and is suspected of being part of the game manipulation scheme in Brazilian football.
The player’s testimony is scheduled for 2:30 pm, and will be the first of an athlete investigated for involvement in the schemes in the CPI of sports betting.
It is worth noting that Romário, banned from football by decision of the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) at the end of May, was defending Vila Nova (GO) when he was enticed by punters.
The deal established that he should commit a penalty during the first half of the game against Sport, valid for the last round of the second division of the 2022 Brazilian Series B Championship.
Marcos Vinícius, however, was not included in the match against the Pernambuco team, and tried to entice other teammates to carry out their part of the deal. The penalty, however, was not committed.
In addition to being banned from the sport, Romário was also sentenced to pay R$ 25,000. In a statement to the Public Ministry of Goiás, he said that he received death threats from the leaders of the criminal group.
sports betting CPI
The sports betting CPI is chaired by Júlio Arcoverde (PP-PI) and rapporteur by Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE). The discussion on the subject intensified after the Public Ministry of Goiás (MPGO) denounced 16 people for interference in the results of 13 football matches.
The cases took place in games in Series A and B of the Brazilian Championship last year, and in state competitions this year. Several players ended up away from their clubs and some have already been sportingly punished for suspected participation in the scheme.
