FORMER Real Betis players Antonio Amaya and Xavi Torres have each been sentenced to a year in prison after being convicted of match-fixing.
Osasuna director Angel Maria Vizcay, meanwhile, was sentenced to EIGHT years and eight months after being found guilty of misappropriation, forgery, and corruption.
Amaya (middle) was one of the two players to be convicted
Torres (right) was also found guilty, while Figueras (left) was acquitted
Vizcay (left) was sentenced to EIGHT years in jail
The case marks Spain’s first ever successful sports corruption prosecution.
Vizcay was found to have made a deal with the Betis pair, in order to help Osasuna stave off relegation to the Segunda Division.
Amaya, 36, and Torres, 33, agreed to be paid £350,000 by Vizcay to beat Osasuna’s relegation rivals Real Valladolid in the season’s penultimate match, as well as a further £219,000 for losing to Vizcay’s side on the final day.
Betis, already relegated themselves after a dismal season, defeated Valladolid 4-3.
They then fell 2-1 at Osasuna.
Both players were injured and missed the matches in question.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas, 57, has made it his mission to crack down on match fixing in the Spanish game since getting the job in 2013.
It is believed that end of season payments to other clubs for beating rivals have been commonplace in the past, making this first matchfixing prosecution a landmark moment in Spanish football.
Amaya made 77 appearances for BetisCredit: Reuters
Torres and Amaya’s former Betis team-mate Jordi Figueras was acquitted of the charges – as well as former Osasuna Foundation president Diego Maquirriain.
Tebas said of the case: “LaLiga is happy, not for the convictions of people, but because this is a move forward against corruption in football.”
Sancho Bandres, Cristina Valencia and Albert Nolla were also found guilty.
You can take part in professional football training while self-isolating as LaLiga side Leganes live stream workout
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
