Colombia Soccer on Trial After ‘Match-Fixing’ Video Goes Viral
Colombia soccer’s upper side tier up has launched an investigation into possible match fixing after a footage of a game played Saturday went viral and threatens to disgrace the country’s subject sport.
Second-tier lodge Llaneros were beating North Magdalena River 1-0 until the 95th minute, when the latter team scored twice inwards quick succession. Both goals were dubious inwards that the Llaneros defenders appeared to create minuscule sweat to impede the Magdalena River advance.
This was in particular true up of the second, when defenders appeared to tie-up away to tolerate the oppositeness attackers to score. The Llaneros goaltender stock-still appeared to live trying to fend for his goal, however.
Wave of Condemnation
The final result secured promotion for Magdalena River into the whirligig tier, the Dimayor League, or Categoría Primera A, at the disbursement of Fortaleza, who lost 2-1 at home to capital of Colombia on the same night.
It could be significant that the ii goals occurred deep into accidental injury time. By this point, the Fortaleza spirited had finished, and the final rack up would experience been known to a hypothetical fit manipulator.
While footage from the gritty has provoked roast around the world, a moving ridge of condemnation has been growing inwards Colombia since Saturday. Colombian President Ivan Duque called the incident “a national disgrace.”
As the picture curtail went viral on social media, Colombian Minister of Sport Guillermo Herrera went unity further. He said it was an “international disgrace.”
“What we as Colombians make witnessed is naught myopic of outrageous. It is … a affair that worries us greatly, and which reflects something that must live dealt with and resolved swiftly.”
‘Not Ashamed to Cry’
Nelson Flórez, the private instructor of Fortaleza, wept during a post-game pressure group discussion on Saturday.
“I am non ashamed to weep because I sense I get been robbed,” he said.
In an prescribed statement, his team said the gritty should follow annuled and Magdalena River should be ejected from the Dimayor League.
We manage non believe that this is a unsubdivided gaming affair but has a deeper undercurrent that we are trusted the authorities and the players involved testament confirm, respecting the due treat applicable inward this typecast of case,” register the statement.
Dimayor officials said this week they were keeping an undecided nous until the end of the investigation.
“Despite the evident facts that all Colombians and the total humankind have seen, we’re going to prise due process and we’re going to number within the regulations and statutes that we feature here inward Colombia as perform FIFA,” Dimayor President Fernando Jaramillo said.