This Monday in Brasilia, during a hearing by a Senate committee responsible for investigating possible match-fixing, John Textor denounced the “manipulation of results” in football. “What we discovered in Brazil is no different from the rest of the world, in Belgium, in France, in all of Europe. The manipulation of results (in football) is a reality,” declared the businessman, also owner of Lyon (Ligue 1) and Molenbeek (Belgian 1st division).
Heard for three hours by this commission chaired by the former player and current senator Romario, the boss of Eagle Foot notably denounced the way in which the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) selected the referees, and assured that he would support all his accusations next Monday during another session, behind closed doors this time. To do this, he reiterated that he wanted to rely on artificial intelligence (AI) which, according to him, “allows images to be analyzed with more precision than humans”.
Pursued by Brazilian sports justice
Owner of Botafogo since March 2022, John Textor has repeatedly denounced supposed corruption in Brazilian football, saying he was harmed by the alleged fixing of certain matches, without however providing proof until then. Last season, his club Botafogo, long at the top of the championship, finally lost the title to Palmeiras, crowned for the second year in a row. “We will irrefutably demonstrate that Palmeiras benefited from this manipulation of results,” John Textor proclaimed on Monday.
Before the senatorial commission, established to investigate the involvement of players, managers or sports betting companies in possible match-fixing, the American also once again targeted the CBF. “I ask that the power of the CBF is reduced. It’s worth playing football in Brazil (and) it’s time to clean up,” he said.
For his accusations, John Textor is also being prosecuted by the Brazilian sports justice system (STJD). It already sentenced him last November to a one-month suspension for accusing the CBF of corruption after Botafogo’s 4-3 defeat against Palmeiras.