One player reported that he was first offered $5 thousand for committing a misdemeanour and when he refused, he was doubled the offer. Illegal betting is suspected
Bolivian Robson Matheus, player of El Alto’s Always Ready, reported Monday that they tried to bribe him with $10,000 to receive a yellow card in Argentina’s match against Defense and Justice in the South American Cup.
Matheus told the media that he received a call in which he was initially offered $5,000 for causing a foul and receiving a yellow card in the match against the Argentine team that will be played on April 10 at the Norberto Tomaghello stadium in Argentina.
“Yesterday I received a call offering $5,000 telling me to take a yellow one out of me in the game against Defense and Justice, I said no, that’s not my character, that I don’t like that, worse than I am starting football, there when I said no, I was offered $10,000,” said the 21-year-old midfielder.
He emphasized that the number of which he was called is from Paraguay and that after the fact he informed the leaders of the Bolivian club.
For his part, the club’s lawyer, Marcelo Ortíz, said they are “very concerned” about this situation that Robson told them and that an investigation will be carried out, but it will also be investigated if other players on the Alteño team received such calls.
“The complaints have to echo not only at the national level, but internationally to avoid this network that for us everything points to them being betting networks,” Ortíz said.
Thus, they will file a complaint with the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) presenting all the evidence for investigation and clarification of this fact.
Always Ready arrives at the match against Defense and Justice after a victory against Deportivo Independiente Medellín by 2-0 in the Copa Sudamericana.
The El Alto team is in group A of the Copa Sudamericana, is in the first place with three accumulated points, followed by Defense and Justice with the same points, then there is César Vallejo of Peru and Medellín of Colombia that still do not add up.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in El Salvador