Colombian soccer giants Millonarios announced Tuesday it may give up titles tied to drug money.
Club president Felipe Gaitan of the Bogota based club, said that the team “might return their last two titles,” in an interview with Colombian press.
The titles, won in 1987 and 1988, were acquired while drug trafficker Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, “the Mexican,” owned the team.
Gaitan stated that the possibility was proposed by the soccer team’s Board of Directors in an attempt to consolidate the past. However, he also said that the decision would need to be further discussed within the team and that, as of now “there is no official position,” reported W Radio.
Since the Millonarios’ statement, congressmen have expressed that all Colombian soccer teams should relinquish their titles involved with narcotics, according to newspaper El Espectador.
The Inspector General has also supposedly said in his Twitter account that “a great lesson would be given by the Millonarios. Let’s see who aims to follow this historic gesture.”
Ties between drug money and football has long since existed in Colombia as it has often proved a good way for drug traffickers to launder money through the club‘s finances.