Spanish U-21 national player Kike Salas has been accused of betting fraud. The Sevilla FC defender had conceded yellow cards in the past that raised questions.
According to media reports, Kike Salas was already brought before the magistrate in his hometown of Moron de la Frontera after the police action, but the 22-year-old was later allowed to leave under certain conditions. The accusation is that Salas is said to have deliberately provoked yellow cards. Friends of Salas are said to have bet money on the cautions beforehand.
Last season, Salas was booked ten times in his 23 appearances in La Liga, but the defender never left the field. Especially in the final phase of the past season, the yellow cards piled up, in his last eight season games there were seven alone. He only avoided a booking in Sevilla’s 3-0 win over Granada, but Salas only came on as a substitute in the 74th minute.
If the accusations are true, Sevilla have escaped with only limited sporting damage. Although the Andalusians had to do without their player on matchday 32 due to a suspension, Sevilla still won 2-1 against Mallorca without Salas. The red-and-whites also found themselves in a no-man’s-land in the table relatively early on.
Sevilla is still silent, La Liga wants to sue
Consequences would of course still be expected: The Marca wrote of “criminal behavior that has both criminal and sporting consequences”. The club has not yet commented on the incident. However, LaLiga announced immediately after the news broke that it would apply to act as prosecutor in this case.
Salas has worn the Sevilla shirt since 2017, only in the second half of the 2022/23 season did he play for six months on loan at second division club CD Teneriffa. It was only in December that Sevilla extended Salas’ contract until 2029. In the current season, he has appeared in 14 league games and received three yellow cards.