Ander Herrera and Gabi face two-year prison and six-year football sentences in match-fixing investigation Football - LaLiga Prosecutor's recommendations for Levante's match with Zaragoza in 2011

One of Spain's longest running football scandals is beginning to reach a head now that prosecutors have reopened an investigation into Levante's match with Real Zaragoza in 2011, recommending a two-year prison sentence and six-year footballing ban for those implicated.

The alleged objective was clear: to keep Zaragoza in LaLiga on the final day, which was secured by a 2-1 win at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia.

"If such a plot didn't reach a trial, it would almost be better to withdraw the Sporting Penal Code," sources from the prosecutor's office have informed MARCA.

"It will be difficult to present a clearer case without a confession."

Thus, the provincial court has forced judge Isabel Rodriguez to reopen the case after it had been delayed it for almost two years, taking it to trial with a number of well-known footballing names implicated.

Co-Authorship

This case is the first to arrive in the Spanish courts with such high-profile names as Atletico Madrid captain Gabi, Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, River Plate's Leonardo Ponzio and Leicester City's Vicente Iborra.

Up to nine players, including Herrera, Ponzio, Toni Doblas, Maurizio Lanzaro, Paulo Da Silva, Braulio Nobrega, Jorge Lopez and Carlos Diogo, along with coach Javier Aguirre and sporting director Antonio Prieto are said to have received a take from a club kitty worth 965,000 euros ahead of the match. Each returned it to president Agapito Iglesias unaware of its supposed intent.

While the paper trail of that money is difficult to trace, prosecutors have now found evidence that Levante's tax expenses claims for the same period were suspiciously low.

The year before saw claims of 200,000 euros in three cases; Gustavo Munua, Felipe Caicedo and Jefferson Montero. In 2011, these dropped to just 300 euros, 3290 euros and 7000 euros, respectively. Some, like Ruben Suarez, put down none at all.

In response to this, prosecutors are accusing each party equally, citing the concept of co-authorship and demanding jail sentences along with footballing bans that reach every corner of the game.

Prison Sentence

In Spain, the facet of the law that relinquishes the need for almost all circumstances of this kind lies in the defendants' favour. Typically, first-time offenders handed sentences of two years or less don't serve them.

For Aguirre, being investigated in a separate investigation surrounding Espanyol's 1-1 draw with Osasuna in 2013/14 could tip him over the limit.

Therefore, the more serious prospect is that of a six-year footballing ban. It would apply to any aspect of the game and across any country, requested judicially and therefore difficult to avoid unless it could be delayed by some legal mechanism.

What of Agapito?

The case puts three individuals in particular in a tricky position; ex-Zaragoza president Agapito, general secretary Francisco Checa and a former executive club, Francisco Javier Porquera.

They will be charged with the falsification of a commercial document for the management of the aforementioned 965,000 euros and may find it tricky to avoid prison, if found guilty.

The indictment which MARCA has witnessed is extensive with fresh problems in line for the players, not least in the club sphere but also on a national team level.

In the coming days, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is expected to go public with these requests for sentences as a case that has long been swept under the rug, and often brought back up in the media by the likes of LaLiga president Javier Tebas, goes back to court.