Confidential contract clauses prevent Sportradar from revealing which matches have been suspected. When results are suspected of manipulation, confirmation is usually performed within 24 hours of the end of the match.
Concern about sports integrity has been growing in recent years, especially with the boom of online betting companies. Match-fixing has evolved and become much more sophisticated and targeted, reaching more sports.
Sports betting currently goes beyond trying to guess the outcome of a match. Today, they allow to bet on which football team had the most corners in a game, for example, or even which team will receive a specific number of yellow cards.
Sportradar uses a monitoring system to detect irregular and suspicious betting patterns. It is provided by sophisticated machine-learning algorithms and a constantly updated betting database, which collects real-time information from more than 600 global betting operators in order to detect match-fixing.
Sportradar has been operating in Brazil since 2016 and signed an agreement with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to monitor competitions organized by the entity, in addition to serving different federations throughout the country. The company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Police in a cooperation agreement for investigations into violations of sports integrity in Brazil, passing on information about suspected irregularities.
Earlier this year, the Cearense Championship was even suspended on suspicion of match-fixing. Crato was relegated after finishing the first phase at the bottom with 39 goals conceded in 14 games, and ended up being punished by the TJD-CE and excluded from the state competition. The Ceará Football Federation has a partnership with Sportradar for the company to act in the monitoring of matches.
Another complaint of irregularities occurred in Amazon football this year. Atletico Amazonense lost 3-1 to Sul América in the second division state when a player deliberately scored a goal against in the 44th minute of the second half. The fact caught attention and the video of the bid went viral on social networks. The Amazon club published a note the day after the game and reported that it dismissed those involved in the episode.
Last month, the president of Atletico Amazonense, Henrique Barbosa, was banned by the Amazon Sports Court of football activities and received a fine of R$ 100,000 (US$ 18,700) for alleged participation in results scheme. He had been acquitted by the 2nd Disciplinary Commission of the court, but the prosecutor of The TJD-AM appealed the decision.
Barbosa will have hearing today (Thursday, 17), with the Superior Court of Sports Justice to appeal the punishment. He was framed in articles 240 (Enticing an autonomous athlete or belonging to any sports entity) and 242 (Giving or promising undue advantage to a member of a sports entity) of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice. Player Júlio Campos was suspended for 300 days and fined R$ 25,000 (US$ 4,700) by the court because of the goal against.
The problem, as pointed out in the report, also involves the sport outside Brazil. Brentford striker Ivan Toney of the English Championship was accused of breaking 232 betting rules between February 2017 and January 2021, according to the English Federation announced on Wednesday this week.
The athlete was close to entering the list of England's squad for the World Cup and will have until the 24th to submit a response to the federation. Sports betting is also prohibited for athletes in England, including not only in guessing the outcome of the matches, but also in choosing the new coach of a particular team, in addition to player transfers. It is also not allowed to pass on inside information to someone who uses it for betting.
Source: Estadao
