SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Brazilian footballer Bruno Henrique, a player of Flamengo FC, has found himself at the centre of a match-fixing investigation.
Operation Spot Fixing, as it is officially known, was instigated by the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Federal District, in collaboration with the Special Action Group to Combat Organised Crime – part of the Rio de Janeiro Public Ministry.
First reported by SBC Noticias, in the early hours of 5 November the Federal Police enforced a total of 12 search and seizure warrants across the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Vespasiano, Lagoa Santa, and Ribeirão das Neves.
The home addresses visited by police included those of Henrique’s brother, sister-in-law and two friends, as well as that of Henrique himself, located in Barra da Tijuca, from where authorities collected his computer and phone.
In addition to those, Flamengo’s training grounds and the football club’s headquarters also had police cordons parked in front of them.
The investigation was launched in connection to a 2023 match between Flamengo and Santos, where Henrique received two yellow cards for a foul and protesting the first booking. This resulted in him being sent off and a subsequent loss for his team.
Following the game, alerts were raised by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) together with Sportradar, on the grounds of suspicious betting activity relating to the match in question.
According to their reports, an unusually high volume of bets were made on Henrique’s unpredictive behaviour. The investigation later suspected that the bets were made by the footballer’s friends and relatives.
Match-fixing is a serious offence in Brazil, and if found guilty Henrique and the other persons of interest could be sent to prison for up to six years.
“It is, in theory, a crime against the uncertainty of the sporting result, which finds the conduct typified in the General Sports Law, with a penalty of two to six years of imprisonment,” said the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro as cited by SBC Noticias.
Shortly after the address searches, Flamengo put out an official statement saying: “The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo became aware, on this date, of the existence of an investigation, still ongoing, dealing with the possible practice of match-fixing and sports betting.
“The Club has not yet had access to the records of the investigation, since the case runs in secrecy of justice, but it is important to note that, while it will support the authorities, it will give full support to the athlete Bruno Henrique, who enjoys our trust and, like any person, enjoys the presumption of innocence.
“Flamengo clarifies, finally, that there was an investigation in the sports field, before the STJD, which has already been filed, but it cannot say that it is the same case and will wait for the investigation to unfold.
“The athlete continues to carry out his professional activities normally. He trains and travels with the delegation this Tuesday to Belo Horizonte.”
