Antonio Amaya and Xavier Torres, previously of Real Betis, are players in a case that centered around two Betis games at the end of the 2013-14 season.
Corruption in La Liga
Two ex-La Liga players are among nine people sentenced to imprisonment for participating in a lengthy match-fixing crime in Spain. Antonio Amaya and Xavier Torres, previously of Real Betis, are players in a case that centered around two Betis games at the end of the 2013-14 season. Several former Osasuna directors were also found guilty in a provincial court of Navarra. For the first time in Spain, prison sentences were imposed for crimes related to fixing matches. Amaya and Torres received one year of probation after being convicted by a court of conspiracy to record the outcome of football matches. The court ruled that the payments were made to the couple as an additional incentive. For the already retired Betis to beat Real Valladolid in the penultimate game of the season. Then lose to Osasuna on the last day in an attempt to help their retiring fight.
All were guilty
Betis still beat Valladolid 4-3 and lost 2-1 Osasuna. But Osasuna, in any case, flew out after finishing one point behind Almeria. Ex-Osasuna CEO Angel Maria Vizcay received the most extended prison term of eight years and eight months. He was found guilty of misappropriation of capital, falsification of statements, and sporting corruption. Former club directors Miguel Archanco, Juan Antonio Pascual, and Jesus Peralta were also found guilty of committing offenses, as well as then-club financial officer Sancho Bandres. Estate agents Cristina Valencia and Albert Nolla were sentenced to manipulating documents and punished for nine months in jail. All sentences may be appealed. A third ex-Betis player, Jordi Figueras, was acquitted along with former Osasuna Foundation president Diego Maquirriain.
La Liga welcomed this decision as a step forward in the struggle of Spanish football with the fixation of matches. La Liga president Javier Tebas said: “La Liga is happy, not for people’s beliefs. But because it is a move onwards against corruption in football”. The practice of clubs offering payouts to other parties for beating their direct opponents. At the end of the league season has long been established in Spanish football. However, according to Tebas, cleaning up the Spanish game will be one of his top priorities until he is elected president of La Liga in 2013. Tebas left this role at the end of 2019 but was soon re-elected for a third term, which will keep him in office until 2024.