Bolivia match-fixing storm: Goalkeeper threatened with death unless he concedes 3 goals

Bolivia's professional football scene has been thrown into turmoil after a coach claimed his goalkeeper received death threats before a league match.

According to the AP, as reported by Yonhap, Leonardo Egues, head coach of Bolivian first-division club Guabira, said on Tuesday (local time) that his goalkeeper Juan Manuel Perel had been threatened with death.

Perel allegedly received the threats before Guabira's match against Always Ready last weekend.

"Our goalkeeper was threatened with his life, his wife's life and his mother's life," Egues said. "They threatened to kill his family if he did not pay a set amount of money or concede three goals in the match."

"You cannot prepare seriously for a match when you are receiving death threats," Egues added. "Something suspicious is going on and it needs to be investigated."

The match, played at Always Ready's home ground, ended in a 6-0 victory for Always Ready.

The Bolivian professional footballers' union called for an immediate investigation into the allegations.

"We cannot let what happened to the Guabira players go uninvestigated," the union said. "A clear precedent must be set for Bolivian football." Always Ready, despite winning the match, also called for a probe. The club's legal counsel said it would ask prosecutors to investigate "to protect the integrity of sport," adding that "football must not be tainted." Guabira has yet to issue an official statement.

In the current Bolivian league standings, Always Ready sits second, behind leader Bolivar, while Guabira is ninth.

Match-fixing allegations have also recently surfaced in Hong Kong football.

In June, Hong Kong's anti-corruption body, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force held a joint press conference to announce they had uncovered an illegal gambling syndicate directly linked to the local football scene, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency and the South China Morning Post, Yonhap reported at the time.

Of the 19 people arrested on charges of match-fixing and illegal gambling, seven were current or former Hong Kong footballers and two were active coaches. Several local clubs were also said to be implicated.

The remaining suspects included the ringleader and members of the illegal gambling syndicate, as well as participants in the illegal betting operation.

Investigators found that the syndicate had created accounts on multiple illegal gambling websites and used players to collect and manage illegal betting funds.

The suspects faced charges of running illegal gambling operations tied to the North and Central America World Cup, various international matches, and local Hong Kong games. They were also accused of manipulating local league results to profit from their bets.