Atletico Madrid captain Gabi has thrown himself into what can only be persumed as deep legal trouble after admitting to taking part in a match-fixing scandal back in 2011.
The 31-year-old Spaniard has conffesed to playing a role in a fixed game back when he was a Real Zaragoza player, involving La La outfit Levante, in which 12 players were reportedly paid €120,000 each to throw the match.
As written in El Mundo (per 101 Great Goals), Gabi, who scored two goals in that scandalous fixture, claims he was forced to do so by his club, saying: “I did what the club asked me to do.”
Skipper of last season's La Liga-winning side, Gabi made this confession to the facilities of the Attorney General against Corruption and Organized Crime.
Atletico Madrid captain Gabi admits to playing a role in the match-fixing scandal of 2011, involving former side Real Zaragoza and Levante
Breaking: Atletico Madrid's Gabi confesses being part of the match fixing scandal at Real Zaragoza a few years ago pic.twitter.com/bRylGnc3h6
— Purely Football (@PurelyFootball) October 2, 2014
The controversy occurred when the then relegation-threatened Real Zaragoza side traveled to face Levante, who secured survival and a spot in Liga BBVA's next season weeks earlier, in the closing stages of the 2010-11 Spanish Primera Division season.
Los Maños won the game 2-1, a score line which down the road led to 20 unrevealed player being summoned by a prosecutor regarding match-fixing charges, late in September of this year.
Real Zaragoza, who currently ply their trade in Liga Adelante, escaped the drop as a result of the win, but face legal repercussions up until now due to that victory.
The club had previously denied any wrong doing, releasing this statement via their official website:
"Following the recent information regarding our team's match against Levante in 2011, Club Real Zaragoza denies being aware of any suspicious circumstance linked to that game. Club officials are willing to cooperate with any authority that requires our participation on the matter."
This could come as a huge blow to Diego Simeone's side's title hopes if Gabi, an integral member of the Rojiblancos team, gets handed a lengthy ban due to his role in the match-fixing, a crime even punishable by jail time in Spain.
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