Cassio insists that Cesar Boaventura tried to tempt him with 60,000 euros to facilitate the match against Benfica. The former Rio Ave player testified on Wednesday morning in Matosinhos, at the beginning of the trial against Cesar Boaventura on suspicion of involvement in active corruption. Marcelo, one of the other players Boaventura allegedly contacted, says he thought it was a “joke” – which contradicts on some points the statement issued in 2017 on the issue.
Although versions of events differ, the footballers maintain that a meeting was held and that there was a proposal from Boaventura to facilitate the match against Benfica that week.
“He called and introduced himself, and asked if he was interested in an outside show. I told him it wasn't a good week, and that there was a match [grande]. He insisted and said he wanted to talk to me,” Marcelo recalls.
The goalkeeper says he accepted a conversation in the car with Cesar Boaventura, justifying the meeting on the grounds that he was about to terminate his contract with Rio Ave and was curious to know if any club was interested in signing him. He reportedly faced an offer of €60,000 in exchange for facilitating the match against Benfica.
“He was interested in Benfica winning the game and told him to do whatever he had to do [facilitar contra o Benfica]. I said no, I asked him to get out of the car and he said that if he didn't accept [a oferta]“Marcelo and Leon before,” he repeated.
In turn, Marcelo says that he considered the alleged facilitation proposal against the “Eagles” a “joke” from Boaventura, which contradicts the statement the player made in 2017. He said at the time before the judicial police that he had categorically rejected the businessman’s advances.
Asked by Carlos Melo Alves, Cesar Boaventura's lawyer, if there was any way to facilitate the match, Marcelo said no. However, in a 2017 statement, it was clearly stated that Boaventura indicated that he had deliberately committed a foul to get a penalty.
Leon, the third player linked to Rio Ave in the operation, did not appear in court on Wednesday, and the footballer is expected to testify at a future hearing.
The trial of this case began this Wednesday morning, in Matosinhos, against the backdrop of suspicions that businessman Cesar Buventura had lured Rio Ave players Marcelo, Cassio and León, in addition to Sailor Salin, in matches against Benfica in the 2015-2016 season, the time in which the “Eagles” won. With their third title. The Public Ministry (MP) charged César Boaventura with three crimes of active corruption and one crime of active corruption in the form of an attempt.
This process does not affect Club da Luz, as the judges responsible for the accusation considered that it was not proven that Cesar Boaventura “was assigned any task” by the Benfica administration.
Cesar accuses Boaventura of promising these players “unlawful financial compensation” for carrying out actions that conflict with the interests of the teams they defended for Benfica.
The Public Ministry (MP) says that these rapprochements occurred days before the match between Rio Ave and Benfica, on April 24, as well as the meeting between Maritimo and Benfica on May 8, 2016.
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