Two footballers sacked after scandalous last-minute own-goal as club demands investigation into match fixing
AT least two players have been sacked by a Brazilian football club following a bizarre own goal one minute before full-time.
Midfielder Julio Campos appeared to deliberately fire the ball into his own net after a back pass from a teammate – and goalie Luis Antonio made zero effort to stop it.
It left Atletico Amazonense 4-1 down to rivals Sul America in the second division of the Amazonas state championship.
Campos’ club announced afterwards those involved had been fired and said regional prosecutors had been asked to launch an investigation into alleged match-fixing.
Although it did not name who had been sacked.
The own goal alone didn’t impact on who won the match but Sunday’s defeat did put Atletico Amazonense out of the race for promotion to the state top-tier league.
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Someone standing close to its president Henrique Barbosa could be overheard asking him in the aftermath of the shocking “blunder”: “What was that Henrique? How ugly!”
None of the opposition players appeared to be making any attempt to close their rivals down when the goal went in.
Campos’ club described the incident in a statement as an act of “serious sabotage”.
They added of the midfielder who scored the own goal: “His unethical attitude ruined any hopes of promotion our team had and made it clear that from the beginning of the game the athlete was determined to sabotage his own side.
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“It is clear to us there is strong evidence of match fixing for personal gain.
“We will not allow this injustice to go unpunished.
“On the day of the match the player was summarily dismissed from the squad.
“We have already contacted the state public prosecutor’s office to investigate this matter.”
One football fan reacted to footage of the incident by saying: “The imbecile who scored that goal should be banned from the game for ever. Let him live from betting.”