Bolivian Championship is annulled after allegations of manipulation

The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) annulled this Tuesday (5) the two ongoing Professional Division tournaments due to allegations of match-fixing and corruptionwhich is why he decided to hold a “lightning” championship for the rest of the year.

The decision was taken after the FBF filed a formal complaint with the Public Ministry for “qualified fraud and criminal association”, after revealing the formation of an alleged “corruption network” involving players, managers, former managers and referees.

The president of the FBF, Fernando Costa, informed about the conclusions of the Superior Council of the Professional Division after a meeting of the organ in the city of Santa Cruz with the presence of the 17 clubs of the first division.

“By 14 votes in favour, one abstention and two against (it was resolved) the cancellation of the Todos contra Todos tournament and the 2023 World Cup tournament”, announced Costa at a press conference.

The FBF president mentioned that the decisions are due to the fact that there are “serious indications that both tournaments were flawed”, and the decisions will now be taken to Conmebol for consultation.

Among other determinations, the Superior Council of the Professional Division ordered the SportTV Rightsholder of the broadcasting rights, to “withdraw the licenses it has granted to betting platforms globally” within 72 hours, at the risk of criminal action.

In addition, it ordered the dismissal of the three members of the arbitration commission, while the clubs requested that “all background information” on the case be sent to the disciplinary courts so that the processes can be activated.

Finally, it was decided to start a new “extraordinary” tournament that will start in the next few days and end at the end of December.

The FBF presented on Monday (4th), before the Public Ministry of La Paz, a complaint against at least five or six players, some referees and officials for the crimes of “qualified fraud and criminal association”, based on recordings and witnesses of support.

A few days ago, an audio of a conversation between a soccer player and a person who proposes to pay US$ 5,000 for a penalty to be committed was released.

In another recording released on Monday, Vaca Diez president Marco Rodriguez reportedly talks to a referee to agree on the number of goals that should be scored in a match.

The main tournament of the Professional Division had the participation of 17 teams, who played between 22 and 24 games.