Match-fixing has reared its ugly head in Spain, with Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) vice president Javier Tebas claiming Tuesday that several games in La Liga, the Spanish first division, were fixed last season. In an interview with Spanish radio program “Al Primer Toque," Tebas said the league is currently trying to gather evidence. He did not say which teams or officials might be involved, but he suggested that illegal gambling syndicates could have swayed results.

“Games have been bought,” Tebas said. “There is the real truth and then the legal truth. Match-fixing exists, but you need to be able to prove it to be able to impose a punishment. We are trying to uncover the cheats because there are some, and even if there is just one, for me that is a scandal.”

He later added: “In our soccer, that same thing could happen as went on in Italy.” Tebas was referring to the so-called “Calciopoli” scandal of 2006, when several Serie A clubs, including Juventus and AC Milan, were fined and deducted points for buying favorable treatment from certain referees, who were subsequently banned from the game for several years.