Zona de Azar Brazil – Brazil: Former Referee was Called to Testify on Betting Manipulation

Brazil.- May 14, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com Former referee Glauber do Amaral Cunha was summoned to testify at the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Gambling and Betting Manipulation last Monday the 13th. According to the investigations, it was suspected that the referee had received bribes to influence the results of the matches.

During his appearance before the commission, Glauber do Amaral Cunha spoke secretly. Audio was presented in which the referee is allegedly heard complaining about not having received a bribe for having scored a non-existent penalty and other fouls that could have influenced the result of the match.

The audio, which supposedly contains the voice of the former referee, was delivered to the ICC by the owner of SAF do Botafogo, John Textor. However, the authenticity of the audio has not been confirmed, raising expectations about Glauber’s testimony before the commission.

In the audio, attributed to Glauber, he can be heard saying: “I blew the whistle, man. I blew the whistle. Do you understand? I stopped making a lot of money too. But what I could do, I did. It’s not crazy, nor is it crazy. I did. The horse was saddled and I got up after 16 minutes and gave a penalty to ‘the’ boys. Do you understand that 50% penalty from the area? I don’t want to go into the second half for eight minutes.” This audio goes back to the end of the 2022 Carioca Championship.

Glauber do Amaral Cunha, who was registered in Ferj and debuted in the state competitions in Rio de Janeiro in 2018, also works as a construction technician and runs a football project for children in a church in São Gonçalo. However, since 2023, he has not served as a referee due to failing the physical and technical tests.

The Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation issued an official statement stating that the audio in question came to their attention through social networks and that they could not confirm its origin or veracity. The federation expressed its commitment to the integrity of the game and announced additional measures to prevent the manipulation of results, including the expansion of contracts with companies specialized in the detection of anomalies in sporting events and the inclusion of more rigorous provisions in the competition regulations.

The federation also emphasized that Glauber do Amaral Cunha had never refereed a Serie A match of the Carioca Championship and that he was removed from the arbitration court due to justified physical, technical and knowledge insufficiencies.

He edited @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com