Spanish prosecutors filed match-fixing allegations against Japan coach Javier Aguirre and Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera on Monday, accusing them and 39 others of rigging a decisive 2010-2011 league match.
In a court filing, state prosecutors alleged Real Zaragoza players and staff handed hundreds of thousands of euros in cash to Levante UD players to let Zaragoza win the last match of the season that year and thereby avoid relegation.
The prosecutors said Zaragoza paid a total of 965,000 euros (US$1.2 million) into the bank accounts of coaches, staff and players.
Photo: Reuters
Zaragoza won the match 2-1 against Levante, who had already escaped relegation that season, with two goals from then-Zaragoza captain Gabi Fernandez.
Spanish sports daily Marca said that if the case goes to trial and the accused are found guilty, they could face jail sentences of up to four years.
Zaragoza’s directors, coaches and captains “agreed ... with the consent of rest of the players, to fix the match,” prosecutors said.
They listed five staff and 18 players of Zaragoza, plus 18 Levante players among the accused.
Mexican Aguirre, 56, was Zaragoza coach at the time, but was fired a few months into the following season and went on to coach RCD Espanyol.
He was named coach of Japan’s national side in June after Japan were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil in the group stages without a win.
However, last week Japan Football Association (JFA) president Kuniya Daini said that they would not have hired Aguirre if they had been aware of the match-fixing scandal.
Herrera, 25, played for Zaragoza in the match in question on May 21, 2011.
Manchester United bought him for £28.8 million (US$45 million) from Athletic Bilbao in June in one of the first signings by the English side’s new coach Louis van Gaal.
Monday’s filing was submitted to a judge in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia. The judge will decide whether to open a formal judicial investigation.
“The deeds described constitute sporting fraud,” prosecutors wrote.
Among those accused, Fernandez, 31, current captain of Spanish league champions Atletico Madrid, denied the match was fixed when questioned by prosecutors in a previous hearing into the case on Oct. 2.
He said the payment was a bonus and that he returned it in cash when the club asked for it back a few days later, judicial sources said.
Real Zaragoza filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2011.
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