Colombian football has a rarefied atmospherejust at a key stage in which the qualifiers for home runs and relegations are being defined. There are numerous refereeing failures, complaints from teams that feel harmed, and accusations and internal investigations of match-fixing. There is alarm over possible illegal bets affecting foreign markets. This panorama has led to questions about the legality and even the continuity of the League.
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Equipment like Patriotas, Jaguares, Fortaleza, Envigado and Boyacá Chicó have denounced irregularities under the shadow of illegal betting. There are managers who consider that the League is flawed and that there are no guarantees. One of the leaders who has raised the alarm is César Guzmán, president of Patriotas, who in the first half of the year denounced a player on his team for match-fixing.
“The League is illegitimate. So much systematic, continuous and decisive refereeing failure for the results, and in positions such as relegation or classification, generate a blanket of doubt about the legitimacy of the championship, but this is not new… This mixture of bets, interests, generates a “mantle of doubt,” Guzmán tells EL TIEMPO.
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Cases increase. Boyacá Chicó has just opened an investigation into alleged bets against the club by players on its team. Eduardo Pimentelits owner, has been denouncing these irregularities for some time and a few years ago presented to the Prosecutor’s Office conversations between two players who declared that they had been offered money to influence matches. The leader points out that these bets are originating from Asian markets, passing through Mexico.
“They are not legal bets, they are those from abroad, especially the Chinese ones in Asian countries, where a person offers a million dollars in an A, B or C match in any country in South America, and Colombia is one of the countries preferred. These bets come through Mexico,” explains Pimentel.
However, stopping the championship because it is considered flawed is not an option that generates unanimity. Nelson Sotopresident of Jaguares, says: “Of course there is match-fixing with some players who lend themselves to that, but there is no evidence for the Prosecutor’s Office to act and the State has not stopped any of that, and everything remains in ‘enormous’ refereeing horrors… The championship is legitimate, it is not flawed, because external factors influence it, such as refereeing and the VAR.”
League teams expect greater support from authorities in the fight against illegal betting
Dimayor stood his ground.
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Fortaleza is another of the clubs that has detected attempts at match-fixing. Your president, Carlos Baratosays that they acted in time: “Our players reported it and we sanctioned a player who received a call and transmitted a message to another,” he says. His position is: “We have organized strategies from Dimayor and the clubs with education and prevention, which are insufficient because we feel alone. The Prosecutor’s Office and the institutions specialized in investigation, detection and punishment must accompany us.”
Carlos Mario Zuluagapresident of La Equidad, who clarifies that he is a defender of the institutions and the regulations, says: “We do not agree that there is talk of stopping the championship or that there is illegitimacy or that we have to create a crisis, it is a difficult situation and we must knowing how to handle it and we have committees and bodies that must act appropriately,” he says. Zuluaga considers that the players exposed to bettors are those who have greater financial needs. And he adds: “Unfortunately, our Penal Code does not contemplate this crime, the only thing that is half classified is fraud. We have to talk to the Prosecutor’s Office and have match-fixing classified.”
Envigado
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Given this situation, the Association of Professional Footballers, Acolfutpro has carried out campaigns with footballers to inform them of the consequences of participating in match-fixing. “It is an evil that is affecting Colombian football… In our meetings with all the teams, we inform them about the disciplinary and penal consequences that match-fixing entails. We also carry out prevention campaigns and send them every Thursday via WhatsApp a section called Integrity Thursday,” he says. Luis Garciageneral secretary. “Something that encourages match-fixing is the non-relegation from B to C (there is no C), the non-television of all B matches and the low salary level that the class B clubs of the first B have” , he adds.
The position of the President of Dimayor and the meetings with Interpol
Fernando Jaramillo, president of Dimayor.
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Given the alarm over possible rigging, Fernando Jaramillopresident of Dimayor, responds: “To attack this scourge, the organization has signed private alliances with recognized firms such as Genius Sport and Sport Radar, which allows us to have permanent monitoring of the markets and possible threats in the competition, leading to the opening of investigations. in the Disciplinary Commission of the Dimayor.”
“The above does not mean that the integrity of the competition is affected; on the contrary, the organization and its affiliates recognize a new threat in sport and are looking for allies to combat this scourge that affects us all,” adds the leader.
This is a global problem. Last October, Philippine authorities, with the support of Interpol, dismantled a scam hub operating alongside a licensed football betting site, which included human trafficking.
Jaramillo says that Dimayor has already had virtual talks with Interpol to attack this situation. However, the effort focuses on alliances with local authorities, which is why, he says, they have approached the Prosecutor’s Office and the CTI. “We are working to strengthen ties with the Prosecutor’s Office in order to sign a new agreement aimed at achieving the coordination of all authorities to attack this scourge.”
Arbitration failures, the other big problem in the Betplay League
Referee whistles with electronic anklet.
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Added to the suspicions of illegal bets is the arbitration crisis, with repeated errors that unleash complaints and suspicions. Recently, Rafael Dudamel, coach of Bucaramanga, pointed out that his team was injured arbitrarily in the match against Chicó that ended 1-1. The player Fabián Sambueza indicated: “Today we eliminated the dark part of football, the one that no one investigates.” Both were sanctioned for their statements.
Cesar Guzman affirms that the problem of the arbitration crisis is not Imer Machado, the technical instructor of the Arbitration Commission, often pointed out as responsible for the crisis, but there is something bigger. “Imer is so small for this to be so decisive and repetitive, that there must be a higher power… This surpasses him, it is more powerful, it is not coincidental, it is not a mistake, it is systematic. I say this as a member of the industry: the championship has the whiff of it not being legal,” he says.
Pimentel focuses on the VAR. “There is no proof to say that the championship is flawed. There are bad arbitrations and other good ones. The VAR was created to help, but due to corruption the VAR can balance results. The VAR does not work in the same way for everyone,” he says.
While nonconformity increases and the cloak of doubt grows, Jaramillo’s message is: “Our intention is that there are guarantees for everyone equally. We have no preference and it is up to us to ensure that the competition is guaranteed for everyone and that we put on a good show.”
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