Zona de Azar Brazil – Brazil: CPI: president of Patrocinense says he finds goals strange, but awaits investigation

Brazil.- July 12, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com In testimony to the CPI for the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting, this Wednesday (10), the president of Clube Atlético Patrocinense (MG), Roberto Avatar, opined that the defeat from the club to Inter de Limeira (SP), on June 1st, had two “strange” goals, but exempted the club’s board of directors from any responsibility for the result and demanded an investigation to point out irregularities and identify those responsible.

Avatar’s hearing responds to a request (REQ 87/2024 – CPIMJAE) presented by senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), president of the CPI. Kajuru mentioned suspected manipulation in the match in which Patrocinense lost 3-0 to Inter de Limeira in Series D of the Brazilian Championship. The match is being investigated by the Federal Police (PF) based on a letter from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) mentioning a report from the company Sportradar.

Also invited to today’s meeting, the representative of the company Air Golden — former Patrocinense football manager —, Anderson Ibrahim, informed the commission that he would not attend for family reasons. At the end of the meeting, the CPI approved that Ibrahim (REQ 94/2024 — CPIMJAE) should now be summoned, and no longer invited, for a new hearing.

Avatar highlighted that Patrocinense’s administration is guided by strict honesty, which is why, the day after the match with a suspicious result, the club broke the contract with Air Golden.

— Many people told me I was crazy, because the contract contains a fine of 500 minimum wages. For someone who was relegated in the Minas Gerais championship like us […], 800 thousand is a lot of money, but, above all, it is the club’s honesty that was at stake.

Senator Romário (PL-RJ), CPI rapporteur, added information from the PF about an abnormal volume of people betting that Patrocinense would concede two or more goals in the first half of the match, and showed a video report on the Minas Gerais club’s defeat. Avatar said he watched the game in person and, for him, the first and third goals of the match seemed “strange for someone who is involved in football”, but he could not say whether they were irregular.

— I’m not saying that there is something, that something happened, because that’s what the investigation will prove. Let it be proven so that the guilty parties pay and Clube Atlético Patrocinense is cleared of this cause. […] If someone is guilty, let them be caught, let them be convicted and be excluded from Brazilian football, because we have already been through a lot of troubles.

Roberto Avatar added that he had contact with Anderson Ibrahim for only five days, between the resignation of Patrocinense president, Ronaldo Corrêa, and the delivery of notification of the termination of the contract with Air Golden. He added that, as football manager, Air Golden ended its activities at Patrocinense without having paid the salaries of the May players.

— I have already proposed several times [to the players] to set up a commission, and for us to file a lawsuit against the company, for them to receive their salaries, and to date no one has wanted to comment on it.

Romário also expressed his surprise at Avatar’s report about the player who scored an own goal in the match under investigation and, two days later, left Patrocinense.

William Pereira Rogatto

At the opening of the hearing, Kajuru commented on the absence of businessman William Pereira Rogatto, investigated on suspicion of participating in game manipulation, who had been summoned to testify at this Tuesday’s CPI meeting (9). For Kajuru, Rogatto had the “bad luck” of stating, in a video published on social media and then deleted, that he had never spoken to the secretary general of the commission; however, Kajuru claimed to have a record of the conversation and left a message for Rogatto.

— In relation to you, I considered him merely corrupt; now, you have achieved two feats: in addition to being corrupt, you are also a liar. And, at the end of this meeting, you will know how you will be treated by us here, absolutely honestly, but treating you as you deserve.

With the agreement of the members of the CPI, Kajuru announced that he will contact the Federal Senate Attorney’s Office to take the appropriate measures in the face of Rogatto’s unjustified absence. Source: Senado Agency

Edit: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com