Former A-League player given landmark prison sentence
Former Perth Glory star Xavier Torres is at the centre of a momentous court case for Spanish football.
Torres and a fellow former player in Spain’s La Liga have been given one-year prison sentences in a landmark case marking the first successful prosecution for match-fixing in Spain.
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The former Real Betis players Torres and Antonio Amaya were on Friday convicted of fixing two games in the 2013-14 season.
Torres played for A-League club Perth Glory in 2017-18 under coach Kenny Lowe.
Five then-Osasuna directors, and two real estate agents, were also convicted.
The Provincial Court of Navarra concluded that then-Osasuna directors Miguel Archanco, Juan Antonio Pascual and Jesus Peralta, together with then-general manager of the club Angel Maria Vizcay, made a deal with the two players in a bid to help Osasuna escape relegation from Spain's first division.
According to the court's verdict Amaya and Torres agreed to be paid an initial 400,000 euros ($A678,482) if they beat Osasuna's relegation rivals Real Valladolid in the penultimate game of the season, and a further 250,000 euros for losing the last match of the season away to Osasuna.
The penalties imposed on the convicted varied from eight years and eight months for Vizcay, for crimes of misappropriation, forgery, and corruption in sport; to the one-year sentences for corruption in sport given to Amaya and Torres.
Ex-club treasurer Sancho Bandres and real estate agents Cristina Valencia and Albert Nolla were also found guilty.
Another former Betis player, Jordi Figueras, and former Osasuna Foundation president Diego Maquirriain were acquitted.
Betis lost 2-1 away at Osasuna on the last day of the 2013-14 season but Osasuna were still relegated because of other results.
"La Liga is happy, not for the convictions of people, but to see a move forward against corruption in football," Spanish League president Javier Tebas said in a statement.
Neymar’s mum ‘dumps’ 23-year-old boyfriend
The mother of football superstar Neymar has reportedly split with her 23-year-old boyfriend just days after their relationship caused a major stir in the sporting world.
Neymar’s mother Nadine Goncalves, 52, took to social media recently to make her relationship with Tiago Ramos official.
She posted a loved-up photo with the 23-year-old on Instagram, writing: “The inexplicable cannot be explained, you live it.”
Pro gamer Ramos is five years younger than Neymar, however the Brazilian superstar gave them his blessing.
"Be happy mum, love you,” he commented on the photo.
However it now appears as though things have cooled, with Brazilian media reporting the couple have split.
Goncalves is said to have broken up with Ramos after it emerged he had previously ‘dated a string of men’.
O Dia reporter Fabia Oliveira claims Goncalves was urged by her family to end the relationship.
Tiago recently posted a video with his mother and sister amid claims he’d moved out of Goncalves’ home.
With Yahoo Sport staff
