Two Former LaLiga Players and Five Osasuna Directors Found Guilty of Match Fixing

​Two former Real Betis players Antonio Amaya and Xavi Torres are among nine people handed jail sentences for their part in a long-running match-fixing scandal in Spain. Five then-Osasuna directors, and two real estate agents, were also convicted.

All the convicted have been handed one-year jail sentences, with the exception of Osasuna director Angel Maria Vizcay, who was sentenced to eight years and eight months after being found guilty of misappropriation, forgery, and corruption.

Ex-club directors Miguel Archanco, Juan Antonio Pascual and Jesus Peralta were also found guilty of match-fixing offences, as well as then-club treasurer Sancho Bandres. 

Estate agents Cristina Valencia and Albert Nolla were convicted of falsifying documents and sentenced to nine months in prison. Vizcay was found to have made a deal with the Betis pair, in order to help Osasuna stave off relegation to the Segunda Division. 

Amaya and Torres agreed to be paid £350,000 by Vizcay to beat Osasuna’s relegation rival Real Valladolid in the season’s penultimate match, as well as a further £219,000 for losing to Vizcay’s side on the final day.

Osasuna still went down after the team finished 18th in the table, while both players were injured and missed the matches in question.

​LaLiga president Javier Tebas, 57, has made it his mission to crack down on match-fixing in the Spanish game since getting the job in 2013.

​He said in a statement: “La Liga is happy, not for the convictions of people, but to see a move forward against corruption in football.”