Mark Harris
Videos by OutKick
Max Alves, a winger for the Colorado Rapids of the MLS, has been suspended due to his alleged connection with illegal sports gambling.
Colorado, along with the MLS, released statements announcing that a player on the Rapids’ roster had been suspended without naming Alves. ESPN is reporting that Alves is the unnamed player as he was linked in a report from Brazilian outlet O Globo.
The report out of Alves’ home country alleges he is part of an investigation that shows that he was paid $12,000 by an organization to receive a yellow card in a match against the LA Galaxy in September 2022. Alves entered that particular match as a substitute and picked up a yellow card 90 seconds into his appearance.
The yellow card in question involved Alves going high with his left foot against the Galaxy.
Text messages that were obtained by O Globo also show that Alves put former Houston Dynamo player Zeca in touch with the organization and that he was supposed to pull off his own match-fixing in October 2022.
READ: U.S. SOCCER AND MLS FIGHTING OVER U.S. OPEN CUP
Five players in Brazil were also suspended by their respective clubs on Wednesday.
Alves started for the Rapids in their 3-1 win over the LA Galaxy over the weekend. The 21-year-old joined the Colorado organization in 2022 where he made 26 appearances for the club and another four for its second team.
