Max Alves a Colorado Rapids player has been suspended, as the MLS begins an investigation into alleged unlawful sports gambling.
According to a report by ESPN, the midfielder Alves is accused to have formed part of a group that accepted payments for fixing events during competitive matches. He is alleged to have approached Houston Dynamo player Zeca to join the scheme, with the League announcing that it will be investigating the accusations without mentioning those involved.
A statement released by MLS read: “Major League Soccer is aware of the reports regarding alleged involvement by a current player and a former player in connection with unlawful sports gambling. The integrity of the game is critical to the league and MLS takes seriously these allegations and any contravention of the league’s integrity rules. The current player has been removed from team activities pending an investigation into this matter, which will begin promptly.”
The Rapids chipped in their statement: “We are aware of the reports regarding a Colorado Rapids player in connection with unlawful sports gambling. We take matters of this nature seriously and seek at all times to protect the integrity of the game. The player has been removed from all team activities while MLS conducts an investigation into the matter.”
While Alves has not been criminally charged, the authorities from Brazil’s Public Ministry in the state of Goias have charged 16 people with seven players arrested within that group. O Globo a Brazilian news outlet, claimed that Alves was paid 45,000 Brazilian Reais to get a yellow card in a match with the LA Galaxy in September 2022, with the caution collected within 60 seconds of his introduction as a second-half substitute in that contest.
Max Alves who joined Colorado from Flamengo in January 2022, was said to have earned up to $12,000 in total from the gambling syndicate being investigated. He has not issued any comment on the accusations.
The United States is tackling a series of gambling controversies after mobile betting was legitimized in many states in recent years. The NFL’s Detroit Lions and NCAA’s Iowa Hawkeyes are some of the prominent establishments implicated in this criminal activity.
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