Fernando Costa, center, speaks during a press conference in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, this Wednesday.Juan Carlos Torrejón (EFE)
The recent complaint by the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) about the existence of a “corruption network” made up of executives, referees and players has caused an earthquake in Bolivian football. The FBF presented prosecutors with a body of evidence that its holders described as “convincing.” At the same time, some executives want to give the situation the cold shoulder. They cite the difficulties encountered in proving the guilt of some match-fixing suspects and say the complaint is “premature”. The clubs are also fighting for the future of the championships held this year.
Bolivian football has been paralyzed since its president Fernando Costa detonated a bombshell at a news conference on August 30: he had seen “very serious” footage suggesting a corruption conspiracy at the country’s key championships. Costa didn’t name names but referred to the leader, referee and player. One of the higher councils of this institution, that of the first division, saw the evidence and decided to suspend the ongoing all-against-all competitions and the 2023 cup tournament, believing that some of the games played there were rigged.
To prevent Bolivia from being left out of international competition, an ‘express championship’ will be held in the following months, allowing clubs to qualify for the South American cups. It will also serve to relegate less competitive clubs.
These solutions met with objections from some teams. The Strongest, who topped the disputed championships, voted against the suspension as the decision would be damaging. In addition, she calls on the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) to review the decision. Other clubs also disagree with the adoption. Last year, the Clausura championship was also canceled due to political conflicts in the country. Unofficially, some officials believe that certain clubs are exploiting the looming troubles to suspend competitions, preventing their rivals from winning or being relegated from the top flight.
Some of the FBF evidence has become known. The media played an audio recording recording the conversation between Marco Rodríguez, president of club Vaca Díez, who has just been promoted to the professional division, and referee Gaad Flores. “There have to be five goals in the game, no matter who it is. It is important that there are three in the first half. They may charge us a penalty, don’t worry. Let them score those three goals in the first half,” the manager explains to the referee.
“Okay, perfect, Doc… Have you spoken to Nacional yet? “replies the other person identified by the sports portals as referee Flores. He is referring to Nacional Potosí, another professional team that defeated Vaca Diez 5-0 on August 16 under the refereeing of Flores Vaca. In the audio, the leader replies that yes, those of Nacional Potosí are aware of it and mentions that team’s goalkeeper, Saidt Mustafá. Although he accepts that defeat by “many more goals” will be a “hard blow”, he reiterates that it is the only way to get “more” money.
After the admission became known, leader Rodríguez applied for his dismissal from the presidency of his club. He stressed that he was doing this “with his head held high” and so as not to damage the team’s reputation. For his part, the referee involved stated that he was the one who recorded the conversation with Rodríguez and that he did so with the intention of reporting the crime to the country’s mediation commission. He also assured that he had not received any money and that he was running the party correctly. The Council requested the dismissal of this Referees Committee, consisting of Alejandro Mancilla, Wilson Estrada and Juan Carlos Cardozo. They are believed to have been aware of the collusion, but have denied this.
In addition, another audio was released mentioning referee Orlando Quintana, who also pleaded not guilty. And club Independiente Petrolero announced they suspected the ethics of four players but didn’t have enough evidence to reveal their identities.
Another club president who made headlines was Marcelo Claure, a Bolivian businessman who lives in the United States and who, as he wrote on a social network, has invested “millions of dollars” in Bolívar, one of the most important teams in Bolívar that Country. “Unless I see a total restructuring of Bolivian football,” the millionaire posted, “and all this corruption being cleaned up, the Bolívar project is over for me and I will be the first to leave Bolivia and stop investing.” ”
Claure is demanding that new referees be installed, “preferably from outside”, that betting on Bolivian football be banned and that anyone involved in scams be banned. In addition, there are calls to reduce the number of first division clubs to twelve (currently there are 17) and to make the finances of the clubs transparent. But the tone of his communications is pessimistic: “I don’t know if it’s possible to play again without knowing who is being bought,” he said.
The Bolivian Football Board of Governors has decided to require the company Sport Tv Rights, which markets sporting events in Bolivia, to revoke the betting license of its company Betting Rights. This has been linked to match-fixing. If the television broadcaster does not comply with his request, the FBF will take legal action against him.