The score obtained by Linense was built with two penalty goals and one against, scored in the last minute. Folha had access to the document, which served as a basis for the FPF to preventively suspend Barretos and five of its athletes on suspicion of having acted with the intention of manipulating the result.
The report, which was also handed over to the Police Department for the Suppression of Sports Intolerance Crimes (Drade), says that after the ball rolled in Barretos, bets began to emerge that the home team would be defeated by a minimum difference of four goals, which contradicted the initial probabilities.
"The betting patterns contrasted with logical expectations and there was no legitimate explanation for them based on the events taking place on the playing field," says the Sportradar document. "In this way, it is only possible to conclude that the punters had prior knowledge that Barretos would lose by at least four goals."
The match marked the resumption of the A3 Series after six months of the stoppage started in March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When they entered the field, the two teams were separated by two points. In 11 rounds, Barretos had added 13 points, and Linense, 15.
Based on the movements of the Malaysian website Nova88, Sportradar noted that the volume of bets to defeat Barretos by two or three goals grew in the first minutes of the match, without an apparent reason for that. "No kicks were recorded during the first five minutes of the match to justify such betting behavior," says the report.
Linense opened the scoring in the 22nd minute of the game with Jayme and extended it, in the 32nd, with Thiago, with a penalty. In the second half, João, also taking a penalty kick, scored the third. "At 87 minutes (3 x 0), Barretos' defense became passive and suffered a goal that was canceled by impediment. In fact, Barretos' defenders were passive and disordered, losing possession of the ball near their area in several occasions at the end of the game," states the document.
The way Linense's fourth goal was built also caught the attention of Sportradar analysts. "Towards the end, goalkeeper Pedro gave a short pass [inside the small area] to team-mate Roberth, who lost the ball and almost conceded the fourth goal, but the ball went into the corner. The corner was headed against his own goal by the same player, Roberth, who scored against seconds before the final whistle."
The company also stressed that different sites ended the bets for the match between Barretos and Linense long before the final whistle. This would constitute a suspicion of those responsible for these platforms regarding the match, according to the document.
Other sites have not changed the odds (and, consequently, the financial return) of Barretos suffering the fourth goal, even with the game near the end. The company also found this highly suspicious. With the report, the TJD-SP (Sports Court of Justice) decreed the removal of goalkeeper Pedro, strikers Fabrício and Derik (both committed penalties) and defenders Roberth (author of the own goal) and Edson Rocha.
Other websites have not changed the odds (and, consequently, the financial return) of Barretos suffering the fourth goal, even with the game near the end. The company also found this highly suspicious. With the report, the TJD-SP (Sports Court of Justice) decreed the removal of goalkeeper Pedro, strikers Fabrício and Derik (both committed penalties) and defenders Roberth (author of the own goal) and Edson Rocha.
The latter is not cited for participation in any bid, but, according to the company, he is suspected of recurring, since he would have participated in two matches in 2017 for União Barbarense under suspicion of manipulation. In parallel with the administrative sanctions applied by the FPF, the Civil Police investigates whether there has been a violation of the fan's statute and crimes of fraud and criminal association.
Olímpia's victory over Paulista 3-2, in the same competition, also drew attention and is under investigation. Barretos, Olímpia and Paulista were preventively suspended by the federation on October 8th and will not be able to enroll athletes in new tournaments until the cases are judged by the TJD-SP (São Paulo Sports Court). There is still no date for this to happen.
Drade’s delegate, César Saad, who has been conducting the investigation since September, heard testimonies from athletes, members of technical commissions, managers and businesspeople last week. All the members of Barretos cited deny any participation in a result-matching scheme.
William Pereira Rogatto, who identified himself to the athletes as a football entrepreneur, is suspected of enticement in the case and had his cell phone collected for examination. The delegate is awaiting judicial authorization to examine the contents of the device. In testimony to the police, he denied participation in the scheme.
The president of Barretos, Julio Eduardo Addad, complains about the behavior of the federation and TJD-SP in the case. He says that the club was suspended without any evidence and that it had great difficulty in having access to the case file. "There is no recording, nothing. There is only a report from a company saying [there is] suspicion," he said.
He also complains that the images analyzed and the FPF do not take into account a series of problems faced by Barretos and his athletes. "The game was at 5 pm. We had a gas leak problem at the accommodation, and it was not possible to give lunch to the cast on the spot. We had to order lunchbox and they only had lunch at 2:30 pm. It was too late," he declared.
In his view, the match was not analyzed for 90 minutes, only for the moves considered most controversial. The first goal, he said, was born from an unmarked offside. The second, from a penalty kick that should not have happened. The third, from a penalty committed after yet another ignored impediment.
"In the fourth goal, our player did not head into the goal. The ball hit his face. He told me that he fumbled with the lighting, and it is not the first complaint we have about it. But [the FPF and TJD] they only selected a few moves. Our goalkeeper, for example, was the best on the pitch. He closed the goal," he added.
President of TJD-SP, Antonio Olim said he only followed a preventive procedure: "He [Addad] can believe what he wants. It is a criminal investigation now. It is with the police. If they find nothing, the matter died. He can complain as much as he wants. [The inquiry request] It came to me, I confirmed it. I will not judge anyone."
Source: Alex Sabino e Carlos Petrocilo – Folhapress/São Paulo
