Operation Clean Game, launched by the Federal Police on Wednesday (26), with the support of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), seized documents that may prove the suspicion of manipulation that occurred in the match between Inter de Limeira and Patrocinense, at the beginning of this month, and again raised the discussion about the performance of criminal groups in Brazilian football and the CBF’s ability to assist the investigative agencies in combating this type of crime.
Data indicates that the integrated work has made it more difficult for criminals to act. There was a 67% drop in suspected matches between January and June 2023 and the same period this year, with suspected manipulation matches dropping from 70 to 23. When considering only CBF games, the drop was even greater, from 92.8%, with a reduction from 14 suspected cases to only one so far.
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The Federal Police and CBF have avoided making public statements about the ways to combat the criminal scheme, but there are a series of measures and protocols that are being followed. Federal Police delegates have real-time access to data and complaints received by the CBF.
At least six areas of the CBF are involved in the transfer of information to the investigative agencies, including the Integrity Unit, the Registration, Transfer and Licensing Board, the Competitions Board, the Legal Board, the Governance and Compliance Board, and the Refereeing Commission. In addition, coaches and captains participated in lectures on the topic before the start of the championships.
The thorough investigation to uncover possible manipulation schemes has been carried out on players, directors, technical staff, referees, and other athlete agents.
