Compromising images found on Kike Salas’ phone in betting scandal

Sevilla defender Kike Salas seems unlikely to escape an investigation into illegal betting activity, after compromising images allegedly showing the organisation spot-fixing were leaked on Thursday. The 23-year-old is currently accused of fraud during at least five matches from last season.

Authorities noticed a curious pattern of bookings for Salas in the final stages of last season, and decided to launch an investigation. Salas was arrested in January, having received seven yellow cards in his final nine appearances of the season, after just three in the previous 14 games. He was also in talks over a move to Lazio, but that move fell apart as a result. Sevilla have not commented on the incident, and he has a contract until 2029 – he continues to play regularly for Los Nervionenses.

Fresh evidence is leaked

Fresh evidence has been leaked by El Confidencial, which would appear to implicate Salas, who is accused of deliberately forcing bookings with an intent to benefit financially. As per Marca, Salas has been found to have used fake profiles and third-party accounts to conduct his business. The police believe that Salas’ friends obtained around €9k from the forced bookings, with 12 people so far identified as having benefitted financially.

Police have also extracted WhatsApp messages from his phone in which he appears to discuss the division of money with his friends. ‘You will have 500 in the account. 300 are mine, and 200 yours. Right? Okkk,’ one series of messages from Salas allegedly reads.

Another exchange with Cesar G., nicknamed Richii, shows Salas and Cesar discussing how many bets they have placed, and how much they can bet on any one account. ‘I put 50 on Ayoze, and on Isco, to the death, in the account of Flopi, hahaha,’ reads another message. ‘It only allows 150 in the Bet? Well, Betfair is the same, no?’

Before a match with Barcelona, Salas also encourages involving others ahead of the game, saying ‘If you want, ask to Bizum from someone. And then you do it [a bet]. And then after we take the money and we pass it on.’ At one point the Sevilla defender even messaged Cesar to say ‘This is getting out of our hands’.

What next for Kike Salas?

It is not clear when the investigation will finish, and how long the case will take to get to trial. In terms of punishment, Salas could face between six months and three years in jail if he is convicted of fraud. He could also be banned by the RFEF for two to five years, and fined somewhere between €3,006 and €30,051, likely more than he earned from the bets. Salas is reportedly earning around €360k per annum.