Brazil's Senate approves creation of a commission to investigate match manipulation in soccer

The Federal Senate approved on Tuesday the creation of a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI for its initials in Portuguese) to investigate cases of match-fixing in Brazilian soccer. The creation of the commission responds to a request submitted last week by senator and former soccer player Romário (PL/RJ).

In his petition (RQS 158/2024), Romário stated that sports betting currently costs a lot of money and that the possible appeal of players and managers to manipulate results could jeopardize the credibility of matches.

"It should be remembered that soccer is an important economic activity in our country, which generates tens of thousands of jobs and moves an important direct and indirect chain of income generation. Therefore, the State must regulate and supervise its activities, in the name of public interest," argued the former professional player. 

Several matches, such as Flamengo-Avaí in 2022, are under suspicion of being tampered with.

As a basis for the petition, the senator recalled a report by Sportradar, a company that analyzes real-time suspicious movements in bookmakers and whose reports help to find cases of match-fixing. This report placed 109 Brazilian soccer matches under suspicion during 2023.

Match manipulation

The Sports Betting CPI will be formed by 11 senators and seven alternates and will last 180 days. The collegiate body will investigate facts related to allegations and suspicions of match-fixing in Brazilian soccer, involving players, managers, and betting companies, summarized the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco.

Last week, U.S. businessman John Textor, owner of Botafogo's SAF, claimed to have recordings indicating corruption in Brazilian soccer. The material, he told the newspaper Extra, reveals referees complaining about not having received previously agreed bribes.

In a speech delivered on March 6, Romário said that in recent months there have been several reports of match manipulation in Brazilian soccer, with a possible link to sports betting. 

"After years of a totally unregulated market and the enormous amount of money that the sector moves, we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what has been happening to the integrity of our sport, which is the number one and the most popular on the planet, the passion of all, not only of Brazilians but of all those who love soccer in the world," the senator commented. 

"(The figures in the Sportradar report are) absurd, at least in my opinion and understanding. This makes us the country with the highest number of matches analyzed in this way," he added.