September 5 – Three footballers were arrested in Panama on Tuesday for allegedly accepting payments to fix matches in the Panamanian Football League (LPF) to influence betting outcomes, according to the Panamanian Attorney General’s Office.
At a press conference, the prosecutor against organised crime, Emeldo Márquez, announced that two current players and a former player from the Panamanian league have been arrested on charges related to match-fixing. The names of the players and their clubs were not disclosed, but they are expected to face the courts soon “for a crime against the economic order.”
“Some players were in cahoots with gamblers to rig matches and achieve results that would allow the gamblers to win,” said Panama’s chief prosecutor, Javier Caraballo.
According to Márquez, the detainees offered current league players amounts ranging from $2,500 to $4,500 in exchange for fixing match outcomes.
“They were working with people from abroad who in one way or another helped them to provide the money to make the payments to the athletes,” Márquez added, noting that payments were delivered either in cash immediately after matches or through bitcoin transactions.
In 2021, the Panamanian Football Federation (Fepafut) launched a programme aimed at tackling match-fixing, emphasising a ‘zero tolerance’ stance towards any form of manipulation within the sport. Clubs were encouraged to report suspicious activity, even anonymously, if they became aware of match-fixing or illegal betting schemes.
Two years later, former Panama national team coach Gary Stempel publicly raised concerns over alleged match-fixing in the domestic league, bringing further attention to the issue and underlining the ongoing challenges the federation faces in safeguarding the integrity of the game.
As football’s popularity begins to overtake baseball and boxing in Panama, with the national men’s team having forced its way into Concacaf’s top four, the match fixing issue has become very much in public focus.
“Today we are taking the first steps in this investigation and the task of putting an important end to this crime begins. As we say in Panama, it could be the tip of the iceberg,” said Fepafut president Manuel Arias (pictured).
“For us, our competition and the integrity of our competition is extremely important,’ said Arias, who said FIFA “is aware of all the investigations.
“We are trying to send the message that not only are there going to be administrative sanctions by the federation, but that there are criminal liabilities for engaging in this type of conduct,” Arias said.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1734948233labto1734948233ofdlr1734948233owedi1734948233sni@g1734948233niwe.1734948233yrrah1734948233