Santos, the club that became world famous thanks to the magic of Pelé, provisionally separated from its squad on Tuesday defender Eduardo Bauermann, one of the players accused of having received bribes from a mafia that manipulated the results in Brazilian football to favor bettors.
The decision came after the disclosure in the press of fragments of a telephone conversation in which a bettor threatened the player for not having fulfilled his commitment to force a yellow card against him to harm his team.
The São Paulo team reported in a statement that it notified Bauermann "that he is preventively separated from training with the professional team as of this Tuesday due to the new revelations disclosed by Operation Maximum Penalty 2."
Odair Hellmann is the coach of Santos in Brazil. Photo: AFP
The note refers to the investigation carried out by the Prosecutor's Office and that allowed to dismantle an organization accused of having manipulated the results of at least six league matches last year, as well as five other regional championships.
According to prosecutors, Bauermann received a bribe of 50,000 reais (about $10,000) in exchange for a yellow card in last year's Brazilian Championship match in which Santos drew with Avaí.
According to the body, although he received the money, the player was not sanctioned in the match and that was what motivated the protest of the bettor.
Santos explained in his note that he will wait until Justice decides whether to accept or reject the accusations against the player to "adopt new measures, always thinking about preserving the institution."
"Santos does not tolerate deviations from conduct and ethics," the statement concluded.
Other Brazilian clubs, including Bragantino and Atletico Goianiense, have also separated players accused of match-fixing while investigations continue. The Prosecutor's Office investigates at least five players from five first and second division teams in the case of alleged rigging. According to investigations, players charged between $10,000 and $20,000 to receive yellow or red cards, commit penalties, secure a certain number of corner kicks, or even defeat their team.
Source: EFE
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