Bolivian championship is annulled due to suspicion of manipulation – 05/09/2023 – Sport

The 2023 edition of the Bolivian Championship was annulled this Tuesday (5) due to suspicions of match fixing. The measure was defined by the council responsible for the tournament and is also valid for the Copa Simón Bolívar, this year’s second division.

“The Superior Council of the Professional Division, with 14 votes in favour, one abstention and two votes against, decided to cancel the tournaments managed in 2023”, declared the president of the Bolivian Football Federation, Fernando Costa.

According to the leader, there are serious indications that matches have been manipulated. “All the consequences were exposed, debated in all instances, and [tudo] was brought to the attention of the sports courts and the Public Ministry of Bolivia.”

Also this Tuesday, the president of the Vaca Díez club, Marcos Rodríguez, requested a leave of absence after being cited in an alleged involvement in the cases.

The president of Independiente Petrolero, Jenny Montaño, claimed that four of the club’s players were involved in bribery.

Clubs in Bolivia also requested the dismissal of members of the refereeing board for the national tournament. Alejandro Mancilla, Wilson Estrada and Juan Carlos Cardozo, leaders of the entity, are accused of being part of different schemes of match arrangements.

The Bolivian Football Federation will consult Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) to hold a short-term tournament in the country, which will end in December.

This Friday (8), Bolivia will be Brazil’s first opponent in the Qualifiers dispute. The duel will be at the Mangueirão stadium, in Belém, at 21:45.