September 26 – Frequently denounced by FIFA and UEFA but still dangerously prevalant, match-fixing has struck at the heart of top-ranked Spanish football with the state prosecutor to question players over allegations of possible rigging in a 2011 league game between Levante and Real Zaragoza.
Zaragoza won the match, the final round of the season, 2-1, a result that staved off relegation but some 20 players from both clubs have now been issued with a summons.
The president of the Spanish league, Javier Tebas, has been highly vocal in recent months about match-fixing and flagged up the fixture last June as one of nine being investigated on a list of suspect results.
Levante said in a brief statement on the club’s official website that they were “completely oblivious to such proceedings and unaware of their development.”
Current Atletico Madrid captain Gabi Fernandez scored both goals for Zaragoza who said they had “no knowledge of any circumstances connected to the investigation” but would “cooperate with any requests” made by the prosecutor.
The state prosecutor’s office in Madrid said in a statement that it had “started procedures to investigate match-fixing and has summoned players implicated for questioning on 2 October.”
Zaragoza are currently in the second division but Levante are still in the top flight. It is the second Levante match in recent years to have come under suspicion. In May 2013, the Spanish league investigated Deportivo La Coruña’s 4-0 win at Levante played a month earlier.
Match-fixing is a crime in Spain and can lead to prison sentences for individuals and a club being banned from official competition.
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