After identifying a criminal pattern in Brazilian football, the CPI of Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on match-fixing will conclude this week. Romário, the CPI sponsor, has proposed three bills to clamp down on sports manipulation.
Aiming to investigate allegations of manipulation in Brazilian sport after a high-profile case involving John Textor, owner of Botafogo, the CPI on match-fixing was first established in April of the previous year. It has been claimed by Textor to have evidence of São Paulo players being bribed in a top-flight football game.
When the commission will vote on closing report of Romário, which called for numerous indictments and suggested three new laws, the work of CPI will come to a conclusion on Wednesday.
Romário claims to have uncovered a pattern of criminal activity in Brazilian football. He stated that clubs or fixers enticed low-salaried players to fix matches with the promise of lucrative foreign contracts. Romário said club directors in need of investment were also a target.
Sports integrity agencies overseeing sports betting will receive Romário’s report. Because of the transnational nature of match-fixing it has called for international cooperation.
Romário said that Brazilian football is in a delicate and worrying state, as people question the integrity of the world’s most popular sport. He emphasized the need for action to reverse the damage.
The CPI will share all documents with the federal police and the federal public prosecutor’s office to continue the investigations.
The report of Romário proposed three new laws aimed at deterring match-fixing in Brazilian sports.
One called for an increase to the penalty for fraudulent results during a sporting event. It also recommended raising the punishment to a 10-year prison sentence and a fine. The current penalty is a prison sentence of between two and six years.
