Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor has been a celebrity in Brazil since he bought Botafogo. With him often speaking to the media, he always makes sure to publicly defend his club.
It turns out there’s been a big controversy about him, because he insists that there’s been manipulation in Brazilian League games for the past few years.
With Textor making heavy accusations this week, O Tempo now reports that he went to the Brazilian police to report the issues and even share the evidence he claims to have.
The Crystal Palace shareholder was also interviewed by Globo, insisting he has big proof of what he’s been claiming.
“I went to the police station, started the process, handed over evidence, gave my statement. It’s a marvellous day. I spoke to independent and reasonable investigators who didn’t seem to be rooting for any club. It’s a lot of information, it’s months of data collection. It’s very much the start of a very healthy process.
“I handed over complete evidence of match-fixing weeks ago. Names have been withheld to protect the identity of the players involved. I care about the law. If someone is involved in a match-fixing scandal, that person also has rights. I can’t understand how the STJD, which has non-confidential cases, keeps asking for proof.”
Textor has been accusing many clubs of playing a part in a corrupt scheme, and that’s why he’s now seen as a bad figure, with Brazilian sides promising to sue him.
In case the Crystal Palace shareholder does have the evidence he talks so much about, then he could become a hero in the South American country.
But so far, he’s only made public statements with no real proof. With him supposedly delivering that to the police and starting the official process, we should soon get to know what he’s talking about.
