Sevilla player arrested, accused of forcing yellow cards so that his friends could profit on bet

Forcing yellow cards so his friends can profit from the bets. That is the very serious accusation towards Sevilla player Kike Salas, who was arrested today and then released after his phone was cloned. The 23-year-old player has been one of best players of the Spanish team recently, but the police got suspicious after he got 7 yellow cards in the final 9 games of the Liga 2023-24 (and only three in the 28 previous LaLiga games).

Most of the yellow cards came after "questionable" actions, says El Confidencial, the outlet that has brought up this information, and came in a period where the team didn't really risk anything, making the cards more strange.

And the police investigation has found that Salas could have been forcing those yellow card fouls so that close people would bet, knowing exactly what would happen, and that way get large sums of money.

The investigation is ongoing, and if he were to be found guilty, he could receive a severe punishment, not just legal (between six months and three years in prison) but also a long ban. Meanwhile, the player is rumoured to be transferred to Serie A club Lazio...