Once again, La Liga teams are being probed by Spanish authorities over their involvement in a match-fixing scheme.
Just like the one that involved Zaragoza and Deportivo La Coruña a few years ago, irregular betting patterns prompted an investigation that has made headlines around the world as "Operation Oikos".
The investigation has led to the detention of former Real Madrid footballer Raúl Bravo, who is been deemed as the mastermind of the operation. Recently-retired player Borja Fernández and Deportivo La Coruña center back Iñigo López were also accused, and on top of it, Huesca's president Agustín Lasaosa was also summoned to answer questions by Spanish authorities.
According to the investigation made public by TV Show Espejo Público, which is broadcast by Antena 3, three La Liga games played during the final weeks of the season are under suspicion: Huesca - Valencia, Betis - Huesca and Valladolid - Valencia.
The Spanish TV show suggests that the games were rigged by the players and not by the teams, since the footballers took advantage of their involvement in the aforementioned matches to bet big amounts of money on the betting market.
One of those games, the one that featured Valladolid and Valencia, gave Los Naranjeros the chance to book their spot in next season's UEFA Champions League by winning said clash 2-0. Both goals came after blatant mistakes by Valladolid's defense, which makes fans doubt about the legality of the clash.
Even a game from the 2017-18 Segunda División is under investigation, since the clash between Huesca and Nastic allegedly had unusual increase in the betting line, since there were fourteen times more bets on that game than on any other in the Spanish second-tier during that weekend.
Further reports by El Confidencial reveal that the investigation will look into La Liga games, Segunda División matches, Segunda B games and even Third Division clashes. Policemen involved in the probe refused to reveal any more details, since the investigation will go on for quite some time.
