Ander Herrera and Jefferson Montero named In match-fixing probe

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera and Swansea City winger Jefferson Montero are among forty-one players, coaches and directors named in a match-fixing probe in Spain.

The prosecutor’s office alleges that 965,000 euros (£766,000) was paid in cash by then Real Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre and nine of his players with their club’s consent to the Levante players ahead of their La Liga game during the 2010-11 season.

According to a court document: “The funds in cash reached the Levante players before the match as part of the remuneration as part of the agreement for Real Zaragoza’s win.”

Prosecutor Alejandro Luzon filed the case at a court in Valencia on Monday.

The court document alleges Herrera was one of ten people who withdrew tens of thousands of euros funded by Zaragoza in order to pay bribes.

The 25-year-old left Zaragoza to join his hometown club Athletic Bilbao in August 2011, before signing with Manchester United this summer.

Montero was in the Levante side which was beaten by Zaragoza at the time, but the Swansea City winger’s alleged involvement is not described in the prosecution case.

Other notable names in the document are current Atletico Madrid captain Gabi and Zaragoza’s former coach, Javier Aguirre – who is now Japan’s national team coach.

The alleged actions are stated as sporting fraud in Spain’s penal code, which states: “Members of clubs and sportsmen, officials and referees, involved in conduct that has the finality to fix a sporting result face criminal charges.”

Meaning, any person convicted of this crime could face jail time.

Montero has yet to release a statement regarding the subject, while Ander Herrera has taken to his Facebook account to announce his stance on the subject.

The midfielder proclaimed: “I have never had and will never have anything to do with manipulating match results.”

Herrera also went on to say that his “conscience is totally clear” and to clarify that he has been cited as a “possible witness”, along with forty-one other individuals.