Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legend Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz has accused the IBJJF or International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation of match-fixing during major tournaments.
Cruz claims officials are involved in prohibited betting activities and manipulating match outcomes by granting advantages and penalties. He points to the current head referee coordinator for IBJJF events, Pedro Arruda, alleging favoritism to his team. The Jiu-Jitsu legend claims to have messages showing Arruda instructing a referee how to influence penalties during events like the No-Gi World Championships.
The IBJJF has not responded yet in spite of the evidences of Cruz. Pe de Pano is an eight-time world and Pan-Am champion from 2000-2005. He seeks to expose corruption within the sport. However, it remains pessimistic about the attitude of IBJJF.
This is also not the first time that the Jiu-Jitsu player has shed light on some of the IBJJF’s business practices. He previously accused USADA of offering reductions in suspension to athletes failing drug tests in exchange for snitching on fellow competitors. He was quite clear in his accusations this time around too. He directed most of them at one of the top figures in the organization.
Arruda said that they are betting cash and then going in to referee. He also commented a lot of times in this group how to make a deal.
Obviously, referees should never be gambling on the outcome of the sport they are officiating. In many organizations, this would be grounds for immediate dismissal. Allegations alone would lead to a suspension pending further investigation. Marcio Cruz made public accusations to see if the IBJJF will take any action.
The legend added that he wants to see what IBJJF will do. So far nothing, everything is normal. He sincerely hopes that when he come back here he congratulates the attitude of IBJJF, but from what he has seen it seems that nothing will change.
