Brazil gets to the bottom of passports scandal

Brazil's politicians believe they are getting to the bottom of a fake passports scandal which threatens chaos in Europe and is damaging the credibility of the world's most illustrious soccer nation.

Brazilians are at the epicentre of a murky affair in which players obtain counterfeit European Union passports to help earn lucrative moves to European clubs. Up to 1,000 people, eager to get around restrictions on non-EU players, could be implicated.

"Lamentably, the use of false documents in the transfer of Brazilian players is not the exception, but the rule," said Aldo Rebelo, president of a commission of inquiry into the scandal.

The net of suspicion has even entangled former internationals Edinho and Careca who both played in the 1986 World Cup team and are now agents.

Corinthians striker Edu was the first case to come to light. His $9 million transfer to English premier league club Arsenal fell through last year after he was turned back at London's Heathrow airport carrying a counterfeit Portuguese passport.

Since then, other Brazilians have been caught in the act with at least two - Warley and Jorginho Paulista - sent home.

MOST PROMINENT

The most prominent case involved St Etienne striker Alex, who has been suspended in France for holding a forged Portuguese passport. His club was docked six league points.

On Tuesday Alex, charged in France with possession of a counterfeit passport, was interrogated by the commission in Brasilia and told politicians his club was to blame.

The player said he originally entered France with a Brazilian passport. But at the end of last season, Alex said he was "induced" by the club to obtain a false EU passport, which he said was supplied by ex-World Cup defender Edinho.

"It's obvious that the player is involved, but the affair is centered on the clubs," said Congressman Jurandil Juarez. Edinho is almost certain to be questioned by the commission whose investigations could last several more weeks.

Leagues in Europe have different rules governing the eligibility of non-EU players. Some countries demand work permits, other limit the number of non-EU players each club is allowed to employ or play at one time.

On Thursday, Afonso Martins Costa Filho, a prominent soccer agent, implicated Portuguese civil servants in the affair.

He told how two officials, who he said worked for "the immigration service or the police in Portugal", provided fake passports for two young players, Jeda and Dede, to complete a move to Italian club Vicenza.

Martins said he obtained the documents on behalf of Careca, who was acting as agent for the two players but he did not realise at the time that the passports were counterfeit.

ESCAPE LOW WAGES

The issue has underlined that Brazilians will do almost anything to play abroad and escape generally low wages and the exhausting fixture list of their homeland.

More than 600 Brazilian players moved abroad in 1999 to more than 60 nations. Destinations included Russia, China, Senegal, Indonesia, Finland and Iceland.

While players such as Barcelona's Rivaldo, Real Madrid's Roberto Carlos and Inter Milan's Ronaldo are household names worldwide, lesser players have found success lower down the soccer pecking order.

Earlier this month striker Denilson Costa, unheard of in his own country, played a major role as Olimpia won the Honduran championship.

Last year, Eduardo Esidio broke the Peruvian championship goal-scoring record as he hit the net 37 times helping Universitario to a third successive championship.

"LEAST TO BLAME"

Commission president Rebelo says the players are the "least to blame" in the scandal. Many players are taken abroad as teenagers without playing for Brazilian clubs and some are abandoned by agents if they do not find employment, he said.

The commission has already repatriated a 16-year-old who said his family had paid an agent $5,000 to find a club in Belgium, only to be dumped with no food or money when an offer failed to materialise.

Last week, congressmen were given an idea of how desperate many youngsters get. Georlan Gomes Bastos, 21, told the commission why he accepted a false passport during an attempted move to Spanish club Lorca.

"I have five brothers who study, I'm the only one who works, my mother is ill and I had just spent four months playing for a club which paid me with a cheque which bounced," said Bastos.

Rebelo said: "This confirms that, in addition to a crime, an urban tragedy exists when players in a difficult social situation accept false documents to play abroad."