Spanish football facing major investigation after sporting corruption case is brought against referee

The Primera RFEF promotion play-off final finished seven months ago, and saw Malaga return to professional football after two years in the wilderness in Spain’s third tier. They secured an epic 3-2 comeback over Nastic de Tarragona in the final seconds of extra time in Catalonia, sending the Andalusian city into chaos. Shade has been cast over the match though, as Nastic allege deliberate corruption on behalf of referee Eder Mallo.

As reported by Relevo, a court magistrate has opened an investigation into referee Eder Mallo, who was in charge of the second leg, and saw a number of decisions go Malaga’s way. Nastic have accused him of sporting corruption and falsification of documents, based on his decisions and his entries into the match report. The judge believes there is sufficient evidence in order to open look closer at the matter.

Nastic contracted a firm of private investigators after the events last June, and they concluded in their report that Mallo expressly damaged Nastic with his decisions. They also recorded a conversation with Mallo, in which the referee says ‘Tarragona is a city of s***’ and ‘The Mossos [Catalan police] are great sons of b******, they are the most corrupt police.’ During his match report, Mallo claims that he feared for his physical safety, something the Mossos denied.

In addition, Malaga directors dined at the Ca L’Eulalia restaurant the night prior to the match, and employees at the establishment claimed that they heard one of them say that ‘we have it all arranged, we only have the [reaction of] the public [to deal with].’

Meanwhile the same night, Mallo was heard saying to supposed friend and waiter Carlos Blanco in a bar in Salou at the ‘Sports Legends Tavern’ that ‘The number 3 for Nastic, I have his registration noted’. Nacho Gonzalez would subsequently be sent off after 63 minutes the following evening in the final second leg. Further evidence submitted to the judge includes a report from former referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez recounting 13 flagrant errors made by Mallo during the match.

Malaga General Director Kike Perez responded at the time of the legal complaint, saying that a ‘line had been crossed’ and that it muddied the miracle of their club. The Referees Committee (CTA) have backed up Mallo, saying that his decisions were correct upon analysis, and that he completed an ‘optimal performance’.