By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA (Reuters) – The Colombian second division championship final was postponed on Thursday due to an ongoing investigation into possible match-fixing involving one of the teams, the president of Colombia’s top divisions said.
The match between Cortulua and Union Magdalena was due to take place on Saturday.
“It has been suspended because we are in the process of investigation,” said Fernando Jaramillo.
The match pitted the winners of two playoff groups to decide the league champions. Both teams have already secured promotion to the top tier.
Union Magdalena’s status is now being questioned, however, after suspicions were raised about their last-gasp win over Llaneros on Saturday. Union were losing 1-0 until the 95th minute, when they scored two quick goals.
Video of the winner appeared to show the Llaneros players backing off their opponents and allowing them to score.
The incident caused widespread indignation in the South American nation with the country’s president describing it as “a national embarrassment”.
Jaramillo said six members of the Llaneros team did not appear on Thursday in front of the league’s investigators but chose to send lawyers in their place.
One of the Llaneros players posted a message on Twitter, saying he feared for his life after receiving threats following the game.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; writing by Andrew Downie, editing by Ed Osmond)
