CBF Competitions Director Júlio Avellar said that the growth of the betting sector without any control poses serious risks to the integrity of sport and the popular economy.  Avellar listed some of the measures being taken by the CBF to combat possible match-fixing in Brazilian football.

According to Avellar, the CBF has been working against match-fixing in conjunction with the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol). Also according to the organisation's director, the CBF is the only one of the member associations that has a permanent office at Fifa itself "to monitor what is happening in the world of football". According to Avellar, there are more than 100 initiatives underway to professionalise Brazilian football, and the CBF is a world reference, especially in terms of measures to combat match-fixing.

"At all times we have been supported by FIFA and Conmebol. We work to put the CBF at the forefront of the global fight against match-fixing," said the director, who was invited by a request presented by Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), vice-president of the CPI (REQ 48/2024).

Avellar said that the problem of match-fixing is a long-standing one, but pondered that with the internet and international betting platforms, the problem has become worse. He said that there is also a protocol of collaboration between the CBF and the Federal Police on suspicious cases, and pointed out that the problem requires a rapid response from sports-related organisations and also from the public authorities.

According to Avellar, the CBF has seen a decline in suspected cases in national football. In 2022, there were 139 cases, involving various competitions and divisions. Last year there were 110, while this year there have been 15 suspicious situations. According to the director, this decrease is the result of monitoring measures and stricter punishments, both in the sporting and criminal spheres.

Macolin Convention 

Avellar said that the CBF has been suggesting that Brazil join the Macolin Convention for over a year. He said that he had sent the CPI a copy of the text of the convention, already translated into Portuguese. According to Avellar, the convention is the first and only international legal instrument to combat the manipulation of sports results. The document came into force in 2019 and has been signed by almost 50 countries.

"Brazil's accession to this convention is very important. It is a fundamental step towards the formulation of a robust and integrated national strategy to combat match-fixing",  he said.

He also suggested working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), linked to the United Nations (UN), to implement in Brazil the Global Programme to Safeguard Sport from Corruption and Crime, created in 2017.

The CBF's Integrity Officer, Eduardo Gussem, also defended Brazil's adherence to the Macolin Convention. The CPI's rapporteur, Senator Romário (PL-RJ), is the author of the request to invite Gussem (REQ 41/2024). The CBF director pointed out that Brazil has already adhered to several international conventions that even need to be confirmed in the Senate.

The CBF's Integrity Officer, Eduardo Gussem, also defended Brazil's adherence to the Macolin Convention. The CPI's rapporteur, Senator Romário (PL-RJ), is the author of the request to invite Gussem (REQ 41/2024). The CBF director pointed out that Brazil has already adhered to several international conventions that even need to be confirmed in the Senate. Gussem explained that the Macolin Convention was ratified in France in 2014 and has since been endorsed by several countries.  According to Gussem, the signing of this convention will be an important step forward for Brazilian football.
 
We do need to sign this convention, which is a starting point. We will be part of a global context, and this is very important for football. It will bring security and hygiene," said Gussem.

Questions

The CBF directors also answered several questions from the senators. Romário questioned whether the VAR (video assistant referee) could identify suspicions of manipulation. In response, Júlio Avellar said that the CBF uses the standard deviation methodology. He admitted that artificial intelligence (AI) could be used in the future, but said he was unaware of the use of VAR by AI in any official championship.

- The CBF is willing to use any tool that can be used to combat match-fixing," he replied.  
Also in response to Romário, director Eduardo Gussem said that the CBF had signed an agreement with the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice to develop the athlete's passport - a document in which the CBF records specific confidential information about the athlete and passes it on to public authorities in suspicious cases. Gussem said that if a player is suspected of being involved in match-fixing, the CBF analyses the evidence and forwards the material to the authorities, who in turn will conduct the investigations.

Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) wanted to know about the monitoring contract that the CBF has with Sportradar. Avellar said that there is a FIFA contract with Sportradar that includes the CBF and there is also an additional CBF contract with the company, which runs until the end of this year. Portinho also questioned whether the CBF has any channels for reporting irregularities and Avellar explained that the organisation's emails can be used by ordinary citizens who want to report any suspected irregularities.

Portinho also questioned whether bookmakers are informed in the event of suspicions of match-fixing and Avellar replied that there is no specific compliance document, but the regulations contain rules that deal with the fairness of championships and the importance of adhering to the rules. Faced with this information, Portinho regretted the fact that the CBF doesn't have a compliance document for bookmakers and clubs.

Answering a question from Senator Chico Rodrigues (PSB-RR), Eduardo Gussem said that other countries also have bookmakers as sponsors of football leagues, organisations and championships. Gussem cited examples from countries such as Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina and Sweden. He also said that sports such as motor racing and American football also have sponsorship of this nature.

- It's become a major reality that the world will have to live with," said Gussem.

Absent

The CBF's Director of Governance and Compliance, Hélio Santos Menezes Júnior, had also been invited to speak to the CPI. The request (REQ 39/2024) to invite Menezes was authored by Senator Eduardo Girão, who regretted his absence. According to the commission's president, Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), the CPI was informed that he would not be able to attend because of a CBF meeting on Monday. Kajuru said that Hélio Júnior had informed the commission that he was available to speak to the CPI and has already scheduled his testimony for 16 May.

- Working is our obligation, not least because every day something new comes up about the subject of this CPI - said Kajuru, who has called a new meeting of the commission for the 13th to hear former referee Glauber Cunha.
Source: Agência Senado

Agência Senado