SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian soccer club Flamengo issued a statement in support of its winger Bruno Henrique on Tuesday amid a match-fixing investigation that brought several federal police agents to the club's training ground in Rio de Janeiro.
Local media reported that police are investigating a high number of bets that came in expecting Henrique to be booked during Flamengo’s 2-1 loss against Santos in a Brazilian league match last year. The 33-year-old winger received a yellow card near the end of the game and was later sent off.
Flamengo said in a statement that it will give “total support to our athlete Bruno Henrique, who enjoys our trust and, like anyone else, has a presumption of innocence.”
“The club did not have access to the probe for the case is sealed,” it added. “Our athlete will continue to perform his professional activities as usual.”
Before the probe, Henrique was expected to play at Cruzeiro in a Brazilian league match on Wednesday.
Brazil’s federal police confirmed that agents visited Flamengo’s training ground, but did not say whether Henrique was a target. A spokesman for the player did not comment on the case.
The winger is considered a club hero and was one of its key players in two of Flamengo's three Copa Libertadores titles.
In May, another Brazilian player was involved in a match-fixing scandal linked to sports betting.
West Ham and Brazil national team midfielder Lucas Paquetá was charged by English soccer authorities amid allegations he had deliberately received cards during Premier League matches to influence betting markets. Paquetá denies any wrongdoing.
Last year, investigations by prosecutors in the state of Goias brought charges of alleged manipulation of sports competitions against 15 players across the top two tiers and local leagues. Many of them were suspended from playing the sport in Brazil.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press
