Former Osasuna director admits to match-fixing in Spain

MADRID (AP) — A former director of Spanish club Osasuna said Tuesday the team made payments to fix Spanish league results more than five years ago.

Ángel Vizcay told a judge in a match-fixing trial that the payments were made to try to keep Osasuna in the first division both in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

He said separate payments of 150,000 euros ($166,000) were made to players of Real Betis and Valladolid as incentive to win matches, while 400,000 euros were given to Getafe players to lose a game against Osasuna.

The following season, he said 400,000 euros were paid to already-relegated Betis to win a match against an Osasuna rival, in addition to 250,000 euros to lose against Osasuna. He said 250,000 euros were also given to Espanyol to secure a draw in its match against Osasuna.

Then-Osasuna president Miguel Archanco denied the club made any payments for other teams to lose matches, but admitted paying the 400,000 euros as an extra incentive to Betis to win a match that could have benefited Osasuna in 2014.

Osasuna escaped relegation in 2013, but not in 2014.

The match-fixing probe began after Vizcay’s confession to the Spanish league. He was one of 11 people charged in what is the second high-profile match-fixing trial in Spain in recent months.

In December, more than 40 people were cleared of wrongdoing after being accused of fixing the Spanish league game between Levante and Zaragoza at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Among those acquitted was former México coach Javier Aguirre. Two former Zaragoza officials were convicted of fraud and given a 15-month prison sentence.

Three former Betis players are among those charged in the Osasuna case.