PANJIM: The Guardian Angel Sports Club of Sanvordem officials, on Wednesday, further denied that they were in any way involved in the alleged match-fixing of Goa Professional Football League matches. This was a sequel to the criminal complaint lodged by Goa Football Association (GFA) at the Police Crime Branch, Ribandar, against the club. Velsao SCC had earlier, on Monday, also denied about similar allegation.
It may be recalled that the club’s president Johney J Fernandes, manager Nicholas Rodrigues, head coach Riston Rodrigues and captain Gilbert Oliveira had reported to Police Inspector Sherif Jaques on Monday wherein they had denied the allegations of alleged match-fixing, following the red-flagging of some matches by Genius company, based on betting patterns outside India.
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Head coach Riston and captain Gilbert deposed today, as it could not be done on Monday due to internet problems. They provided their mobile numbers, their PAN cards and bank accounts with the banks.
Riston, a national footballer having represented his school as well as the State at nationals, stated that he has a very clean, distinguished career without any blemish. “I started my coaching career with the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) in 2012, having coached youngsters, and then switched over to the club having been in charge of about 200 matches in Pro League, with 10 of these being in the 2022-23 season at Duler stadium, Mapusa.
About the red-flagged matches, Riston stated: “We lost the match 1-4 against Panjim Footballers on January 8 and 0-5 against Dempo on January 11. We lost due to the fact we were not fully prepared, as we could not resort to regular practice sessions. Moreover, there was a big question mark on the fitness of the players. And, to make matters worse, matches were scheduled with very short breaks in between. Seven players were injured and could not recover from the injuries. Hence the allegation by GFA is false. Further, he emphasised that no player or official of the team indulged in match-fixing.”
Riston also denied that any agent or suspect person had approached him or the players for the purpose of match-fixing.
Captain Gilbert, who donned colours for Salgaocar SC and Churchill Bros FC, is a former national player from Sao Jose de Areal, Raia, having joined Guardian Angel in 2019 and played more than 100 matches in Pro League, I-League and AFC championship. He also played 10 Pro League matches this season being its skipper, having lost to Panjim Footballers as well as Dempo.
“The cause of failure was due to many players not attending practices on a regular basis, poor fitness levels of the players and also playing the league matches with very short gaps in between. Then there were injuries that prevented the players from attaining the desired fitness levels on time. Hence we lost. It is a pity that our team is a weak one,” stressed Gilbert.
“The GFA’s allegation that we are involved in match-fixing is false. Moreover, no player or team official of the club is indulging in match-fixing activities and also no suspect person approached me with a view to indulge in match-fixing,” added Gilbert.
President of the club, Johney felt very sad at the match-fixing allegations just because the matches were red-flagged, based on betting patterns outside India. Genius has not provided evidence. Of course, the Police has to carry out their investigations at the instance of GFA, which wants to put an end to this alleged menace, if any. Till then, it is the image of the club, its officials under a cloud, and one has to wait sometimes for long to know if they are in the clear or not.
“We are totally dependent on our local MLA, Nilesh Cabral, who is the Environment, Law and Judiciary, PWD Minister, to run the club, set up in 1972. It is mostly because of him, due to his timely help and support that we are able to carry on the football activities, participating in inter-village tournaments and also organising an inter-village tournament, summed up the Kakoda-based official, who often also chips in with his own finances. Manager Nicholas Rodrigues also concurred with Johney’s views, adding that only those who manage the local clubs know and understand the tough gamut of operations, problems and difficulties which are enormous. “One thing we are sure – the club has no links whatsoever with the so called alleged match-fixing,” stressed the two officials.
