Players detained in Spanish football match-fixing swoop

MADRID: An operation against several footballers, ex-players including former Spain international Raul Bravo and club executives accused of fixing matches in the first and second divisions was underway in Spain on Tuesday, police and sources said.

In a statement, police said they were in the process of conducting raids in several, unnamed areas and planned to detain 11 people — “retired and active footballers in the first division, active players in the second division and executives of a club.”

A source close to the probe, who refused to be named, said that matches were allegedly fixed during this season and the 2017-2018 campaign. Among them were several games played by Real Valladolid, a club majority-owned by former Brazil striker Ronaldo since September.

The source named several players involved to AFP. They include Bravo, a 38-year-old former Real Madrid player who once played for Spain, Borja Fernandez who played for first division Real Valladolid, and Carlos Aranda, a retired player who appeared for a string of Spanish clubs.

Samuel Saiz, a Leeds player loaned to Getafe this season, is also allegedly involved as is Inigo Lopez Montana, who played for Extremadura and Deportivo La Coruna this season. The president of SD Huesca, another football club that climbed into first division this season before being relegated again, was also targeted.

It was as yet unclear whether they had all been detained. Those at Huesca “are suspected of having taken part in match-fixing when they were in the second division,” the source said. The suspects are accused of match-fixing, belonging to a criminal gang and money laundering, police said.