A Spanish state prosecutor is to question certain players over allegations of possible match-fixing in a 2011 Spanish league game between Levante and Real Zaragoza.
The state prosecutor’s office in Madrid said in an email that it “has started procedures to investigate match-fixing and has summoned players implicated for questioning on October 3”.
The match under investigation was the final match of the 2010-11 season. Zaragoza won 2-1 at Levante with two goals from the current Atlético Madrid captain Gabi. That victory saved Zaragoza from relegation.
Looking at the highlights, one player who seems likely to be exonerated is Levante goalkeeper, Gustavo Munia, who pulls off several remarkable saves during the course of the game. One, where he flicks a goal-bound header on to the bar, is astonishing.
The match was included on a list of nine matches compiled in June 2013 by the Spanish league president, Javier Tebas, which were being investigated for possible match-fixing.
Zaragoza said in a statement that it had “no knowledge of any circumstances connected to the investigation” but that it would “cooperate with any requests” made by the prosecutor.
A Levante spokesman declined to comment.
It is the second Levante match in recent years to have come under suspicion of match-fixing. In May 2013, the Spanish league investigated Deportivo La Coruña’s 4-0 win at Levante played a month earlier.
Match-fixing is a crime in Spain and can lead to prison sentences for individuals and a club being banned from official competition.
