Eight goals, seven suspensions: Brazil’s latest match-fixing scandal unfolds

Brazilian football has been hit by another suspected match-fixing case after seven Sport Club Jaraguá players were provisionally suspended.

The case follows an integrity investigation into the club’s 8-1 defeat to Juventus de Jaraguá do Sul in the Santa Catarina Série B.

The 30-day suspensions were requested by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Santa Catarina Sports Justice Tribunal after the Brazilian Football Integrity Unit, which operates under the Brazilian Football Confederation, received a report from integrity monitoring specialist Sportradar identifying what it described as “clear and compelling evidence” of suspicious betting activity.

Suspicious betting activity reportedly intensified while the game was still in progress, with the score at 4-0.

Sportradar found that 90% of all single bets placed on the handicap market backed Juventus to win by six goals or more while 92% of wagers in the total goals market predicted at least seven goals would be scored.

The integrity report also highlighted specific incidents during the match, including a penalty and defensive mistakes allegedly involving the footballers in the goals that extended the score to 7-1 and 8-1.

Three other suspended players had previously appeared in investigations involving suspicious matches between 2022 and 2024 while representing other clubs, according to the report.

Brazil’s Ministry of Sports published a Manual for the Prevention and Combat of Sports Results Manipulation to help sporting bodies identify and respond to betting-related corruption.

Sport Club Jaraguá said in a statement that it “repudiates any practice related to match manipulation or any conduct that compromises the credibility of competitions and the values of football.”

“If there are signs of irregularities, the club will fully collaborate with the competent authorities and entities, adopting all appropriate measures to properly investigate the facts, always respecting due process.”