Spanish league players arrested over football match-fixing

Spanish police have made a series of arrests over alleged match-fixing activities in the country’s top two divisions of club football. Total of 11 people was arrested, including the president of SD Huesca.

Although no names have been officially disclosed in the case dubbed ‘Operación Oikos’, Spanish media has named people arrested citing police sources. Amongst the players involved were Getafe’s Samuel Saiz, who spent last season on loan at English Championship side, Leeds United, former Real Madrid player Raul Bravo, Real Valladolid’s Borja Fernandez and Deportivo de La Coruna’s Inigo Lopez Montana.

La Liga officials confirmed that SD Huesca is involved with the case, with its game against Gimnastic de Tarragona towards the end of the 2017-18 season flagged by the league as a result of suspicious betting activity. This lead investigation to Agustín Lasaosa, president of the Huesca and Juan Carlos Galindo Lanuza, head of the medical services of the same club. Both were also brought in for questioning.

In an unrelated case, various media reports claim that Valencia’s 2-0 win at Real Valladolid during the final day of 2018/2019 season, which saw Los Che qualify for the Champions League, is also under investigation. According to reports, there is no suspicion that officials of either club were involved in any ‘fixing’ activity, but that it would solely have been between the players.

Valencia officials have already rejected any involvement.

“Following the news that appeared this Tuesday in relation to the presumed implication of players and leaders of other clubs in illegal bets related to alleged matches of parties, Valencia CF, as an entity absolutely unrelated to this matter, wishes to publicly warn that it will undertake the appropriate legal measures, with the consequences that derive from it, against anyone who spreads any rumour or unfounded news that tries to relate our club to the aforementioned topic,” said club’s statement.