Barcelona 'B' players were asked to stop scoring and refused in 12-0 win
The coach of Eldense, the team that canceled its season after a 12-0 loss to Barcelona B, has denied allegations of match-fixing. Instead, he says, Barcelona B were too good and they were asked to stop scoring but refused.
Eldense coach Filippo Vito di Pierro was arrested on suspicions of being involved in fixing the weekend’s blowout loss to Barcelona B, but he said the allegations are false.
"After the embarrassment of Saturday's result, I believe our 20 players are clean," he told COPE Radio in Spain.
"The Barcelona players did not respect the code of honor between teams,” he added, referring to an unofficial mercy rule. "In fact, our players on the bench requested Barcelona to stop [scoring] and they [Barcelona players] would say: 'I'm sorry, we can't.’"
The coach was among five people, including a couple players, who were arrested in Spain amid allegations of match-fixing. He was released from jail Wednesday but still faces charges relating to corruption and organized crime.
The allegations arose shortly after Barcelona B walloped Eldense by a 12-0 score this weekend.
https://twitter.com/FCBmasia/status/848276683610181633
The next day, the club announced it would cease operations because the loss ensured Eldense would be relegated out of Spain’s third division. The Spanish Football Federation soon after opened an investigation due to the “striking” nature of the lopsided result.
It’s unclear if the charges against Di Perro will stick, but either way, it doesn’t look like he’s coming out of this unscathed. Even if he is cleared of all charges, he is still on record of having wanted an opposing team to stop trying out of pure pity. Ouch. Not the best look for any coach.
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