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The Colorado Rapids removed a player from all team activities in connection with his alleged involvement with “unlawful sports gambling,” the team and MLS announced Wednesday night.
Although neither organization’s statement identified the player, multiple reports identified him as forward Max Alves, who allegedly received $12,000 for getting a yellow card in a match last year against the LA Galaxy.
The Rapids’ statement said the team is “aware of the reports regarding a Colorado Rapids player in connection with unlawful sports gambling. We take matters of this nature seriously and seek at all times to protect the integrity of the game. The player has been removed from all team activities while MLS conducts an investigation into the matter.”
MLS’s statement was similar, promising that its investigation into unlawful gambling would begin “promptly” and adding that a former player, identified only in reports as former Houston Dynamo forward Zeca, also is allegedly involved.
The statements came after Brazilian prosecutors in the state of Goias charged 16 people Wednesday, including seven professional soccer players, with alleged match fixing without naming them. Five players were suspended by their Brazilian clubs Wednesday.
An O Globo report in Brazil linked Alves to the investigation and accused him of being paid $12,000 to draw a yellow card by a group headed by a Brazilian businessman in a Sept. 17, 2022, match against the Galaxy. He was slapped with the yellow for a hard foul about 90 seconds after he subbed into the match.
O Globo also cited text messages indicating that Alves put Zeca in touch with the group making the payments.
Alves, who was born in Brazil, started for the Rapids in a 3-1 victory Saturday over the Galaxy and has appeared in 12 matches this year for Colorado. The 21-year-old joined the team from the Brazilian club Flamengo before the 2022 season.
Zeca, 28, made 20 appearances for Houston in 2022, his only MLS season. He signed with EC Vitória, a second-tier club in Brazil, when Houston declined his contract option over the winter.
This isn’t the first time MLS has dealt with a player allegedly involved in gambling. Two years ago, it suspended Sporting Kansas City midfielder Felipe Hernández, who had told the club he was worried about his safety because of gambling debts. After an investigation, he was reinstated for the 2022 season and continues to play for Sporting KC.