Decisive Moments: Atlético and Controversies in La Liga
The passion for Atlético de Madrid is felt in every match, but throughout history, Spanish football has been sprinkled with controversies involving bonuses to third parties and suspicions of match-fixing. We recall some moments where Atleti was involved in complex situations.
In a final matchday of La Liga, an Espanyol-Atlético generated controversy. According to Futre, Jesús Gil, then rojiblanco president, asked the players to let themselves be defeated, promising the arrival of a player from Espanyol in exchange.
The result was a 3-1 victory for Espanyol, which managed to save the category. Beyond this episode, the history of Spanish football has been marked by cases of match-fixing that shook the foundations of the sport.
A former manager of Osasuna confessed in court to the purchase of three First Division matches, detailing payments to Valladolid and Betis to influence their results. An attempted match-fixing in an Osasuna-Getafe was also investigated, where 400,000 euros were offered.
Other well-known cases include a Levante-Zaragoza in 2011, under suspicion for alleged match-fixing to avoid the relegation of Zaragoza, and ‘Operation Oikos’ in 2019, which investigated First Division matches such as Getafe-Villarreal and Valladolid-Valencia. These events, although unrelated to the athletic fervor, remind us of the importance of maintaining integrity in each match, defending the values of fair play that we so appreciate in our Atleti.
