It ran the minute 65 last Saturday the Angel Carwhere the local team, CD Lugo, faced Eibar. Xavi Torres jumped onto the field in what could be a simple change for a footballer who was returning after overcoming an injury. But it turns out that the former Betis player, among other teams, was sentenced on January 19 for the ‘Osasuna Case’. The Supreme Court decided to impose a prison sentence of 10 months in prison, a fine of 400,000 euros and 22 months of disqualification for sports corruption to the first active footballer convicted of rigging.
Antonio Amaya, Torres’s teammate in the Betic dressing room, received an identical punishment. The man from Madrid retired in 2019 after an injury. The current player from the Lugo team returned to a mixture of applause and a rumor in the stands that questions whether it is ethical for a footballer convicted of fixing to continue playing. As confirmed by CD Lugo, their participation is legal until the Court of Navarra initiates the sentence of the Supreme for which he was disqualified for 22 months (Xavi Torres is currently 36 years old).
Two matches added
What happened for Xavi Torres and Antonio Amaya to be sentenced? As indicated by the Supreme Court magistrates in the document to which this newspaper has had access, The Osasuna board of directors agreed with Xavi Torres and Antonio Amaya, then Betis players, to pay 650,000 euros for the Verdiblancos to win on matchday 37 of 2013/2014 against Real Valladolid, the ‘rojillos’ rival in the fight for permanence, and let them win against the Osasunistas on matchday 38, the championship final.
Betis, who was already relegated at that time, fulfilled both tasks, although the Navarrese club could not save themselves when they failed on the penultimate day against Espanyol (they drew 1-1). In the Supreme Court ruling, it is explained how Ángel Luis Vizcay and Jesús Peralta, former manager and former director of Osasuna, sentenced to 5 years and 7 months in prison and 5 years in prison respectively; held a meeting on May 9, 2014 at the Meliá Los Galgos Hotel in Madrid with Antonio Amaya and Xavi Torres.
“Since the Real Betis players requested a total amount close to one million euros, the payment of a greater amount was subject to the final result of the league. The amounts agreed would be as follows: the 400,000 euros after the Real Betis – Real Valladolid match on matchday 37 and the 250,000 euros after the Osasuna – Real Betis match“, indicates the resolution, which details how after the fulfillment of the first agreed result, Vizcay and Peralta traveled to Seville to make the payment.
injured players
To have the total amount of the operation, Osasuna had to resort to a sponsor, “who lent 220,000 euros, always believing that it was due to urgent needs of the club.” The ‘rojillos’ managers traveled on May 16, 2014 to make the payment to Xavi Torres and Antonio Amaya. Despite the frustrated salvation, the Navarrese representatives had to make the second payment. “However, and given that initially there had been talk of a higher amount, From that day until February 25, 2015, there were calls to both Mr. Vizcay and Mr. Peralta claiming the remaining amount“, expands the legal document.
Among the arguments expressed by the defense and by the CD Lugo footballer himself, it is justified that both players were injured: “Mr. Xavier Torres had been injured all season and had even been discharged from the federation and Mr. Antonio Amaya was out for three or four weeks due to a pubic injury.” Therefore, neither of them participated from the field of play in the rigged matches.
The Court of Navarre considered at the time that “It is precisely this circumstance that justifies that they can travel to Madrid” and, according to the Supreme Court, “the appellant is an athlete, with a file in a certain sports entity and as such a subject included in the Penal Code, the corresponding type of sports corruption, which in no way excludes injured athletes, but includes those who agree to a predetermined result”.
Levante case
For its part, CD Lugo has positioned itself in favor of Xavi Torres, who arrived at the Galician entity in September 2020 after finishing his contract with Al-Arabi SC of Kuwait. He signed for a season with the team that Juanfran García was coaching at the time. Both had coincided in Levante UD for two seasons (from 2010 to 2012) and both were acquitted in December 2019 for the ‘Levante Case’ that tried an alleged match fixing between Real Zaragoza and the Granota team in 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkaYcuSMem0
Questioned about Xavi Torres’ situation in the process, Juanfran García said: “Starting to talk about these things when we are 48 hours away from a game… Now is the time to welcome Xavi. Let him enjoy himself and know that he is coming to a club where his teammates are going to demand him”. At the insistence of the press, the Valencian coach insisted: “Talking about non-sports things benefits absolutely nothing and I hope that this issue is not talked about anymore, because these are issues that have already happened or that are pending”.
And the situation of Xavi Torres was not brought to the fore again until January 19, 2023, when the Supreme Court ruling was made official. The Second Division team issued a statement hours after learning of the judicial decision in which “expressed support for him, highlighting his magnificent behaviour, professionalism, involvement and commitment demonstrated since the beginning of his time at the club” and requested “respect, both for the player and for his environment”, assuring that he would accompany “the player in these difficult moments, underlining without a doubt, his excellent human and professional quality throughout the period wearing the albivermella (red and white) jacket”.
“He’s a leader”
Xavi Torres played a key role in the two tenures achieved by CD Lugo in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, being a fixture for all coaches and reaching the role of captain in the current season, where the rojiblancos are penultimate, with 22 points. In fact, last summer he renewed with the Galician club for two seasons.
Months before the return to LaLiga -on April 25, 2020-, the Second Section of the Provincial Court of Navarra signed the first conviction in Spain for sports corruption. “When we signed Xavi Torres we knew that this issue was there, but we didn’t know when it was going to come out ahead”explained Tino Saqués, president of the silver category, when asked about the future of the footballer after being firmly sentenced by the Supreme Court.
“The sentence is there, but it is not clear when it will materialize. It could be in the medium or long term. After seeing the situation at a legal level, we understood that the situation was going to last longer. According to what we received, it could be -the initiation by the Audiencia de Navarra- could take months, so we decided that Xavi Torres should continue with us”, said the top shareholder of CD Lugo, in which he defined the midfielder as “a very important player for us, a leader in the dressing room, one of those who pulls for the team so that everyone is 100%, integrated and connected. A footballer who has experienced situations like this (the fight to avoid relegation). It’s critical that he be with us.”
So, as long as the Court of Navarra does not initiate the file of the Supreme Court against Xavi Torres, CD Lugo maintains in its structure a player firmly convicted, who, according to legal verification, can align without incurring in an undue approach. All this regardless of the reputational risk or the ethical debate generated by the alignment of the first footballer convicted in Spain for fixing.
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