The Parliamentary Commission for the Investigation of Result Manipulation and Sports Betting has approved two hearing requests for football players to testify in the context of various investigations being conducted by the body.
Brazil.- The Parliamentary Commission for the Investigation (CPI) of Result Manipulation and Sports Betting approved two hearing requests for football players Luiz Henrique, from Botafogo, and Bruno Henrique, from Flamengo. The dates for these hearings are not yet scheduled, although the players are already aware that they must appear before the senators who make up the CPI.
The request for Luiz Henrique's summons was presented by the president of the CPI, Senator Jorge Kajuru. Being a summons, the player must give a statement and cannot exempt himself from participating.
Luiz Henrique was summoned for being the beneficiary of two transfers, totaling R$ 40,000 (USD 6,929), made at the beginning of 2023, shortly after the player received yellow cards while playing in Betis of Spain. The transactions came from relatives of Lucas Paquetá, another Brazilian player suspected of participating in betting manipulation.
Paquetá is being investigated in England for his alleged involvement in an illegal manipulation scheme. Luiz Henrique does not yet have any judicial file opened against him.
Bruno Henrique, meanwhile, was summoned to give a statement before the CPI, at the request of Kajuru and Senator Eduardo Girão. Last week, the football player was the target of an operation by the Federal Police (PF) investigating whether the Flamengo athlete had deliberately acted to receive a penalty in a match, with the aim of benefiting relatives in sports betting.
The CPI also decided to summon businessman Willian Rogatto, arrested last Friday, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In a previous statement to the CPI, the businessman even claimed that he was responsible for the relegation of 42 teams, which earned him the nickname "King of Relegation" and a turnover of R$ 300m (USD 51m).
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The referee Jean Pierre Gonçalves Lima was also summoned. According to the author of the request, Senator Carlos Portinho, he was dismissed for 15 months by the arbitration committee of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) after a controversial play in a Brazilian Championship match between Athletico-PR and Palmeiras, in 2023.
