Print

Mail

wiki links

Brazilians replay games after match-fixing ruling

Sao Paulo cried foul, Corinthians quietly commemorated, and many Brazilian clubs hastily juggled their schedules to replay games officiated by a referee who took payoffs to fix soccer matches.

The Superior Tribunal of Sports Justice on Sunday annulled 11 first-division matches refereed by Edilson Pereira de Carvalho, who confessed that he favored certain clubs in exchange for money from gamblers.

The Brazilian Soccer Confederation said the championship wouldn't stop, but the tribunal's decision affects the standings of the first division and will oblige clubs to make up 11 games it said were "contaminated" by Carvalho.

The decision drew howls of protest from Sao Paulo, a three-time national champion and winner of the Copa Libertadores this year.

The team must replay a loss to Ponte Preta and a victory over Corinthians.

Hardest hit was Cruzeiro, which lost six points for two victories that were annulled and fell from eighth place to 13th among the 22 first-division clubs.
This story has been viewed 1797 times.