Thu, July 30, 2026
Brazilian court ties player suspension to injured opponent’s recovery time in rare ruling
Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) has ruled that Internacional player, Victor Gabriel’s, suspension for a tackle which seriously injured his opponent, Cruzeiro’s Gabriel Pec, will be tied to the time it takes Pec to recover.
Following 22-year-old Gabriel’s red card tackle during a Brazilian Serie A match on July 23, eventually won by Cruzeiro, at the Estadio Beira-Rio, 25-year-old Pec was left with a fractured tibia in his left leg, requiring surgery. This match marked Pec’s debut as a forward for Cruzeiro EC, having previously played for LA Galaxy, an American professional club which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS).
The case was taken to the STJD due to “the violence and the severity of the injury,” and it ruled that Gabriel could return once Pec resumes training again as the tackle, which was described as “disproportionate and reckless,” fell under Article 254, 3 of the Brazilian Code for Sports Justice (CBJD) which rules that if an athlete cannot compete due to “serious foul play,” the player responsible for the injury will be banned until the injured returns to training, capped at 180 days.
Therefore, Gabriel’s suspension is capped at 180 days – roughly 6 months. However, sources state that Pec could return to training in about 3 months if recovery goes well and could possibly return to competitive matches after 4. The ruling is rare as suspensions are usually based on a fixed number of matches or time period.
Gabriel stated: “It was a completely unfortunate incident…
I apologised to him and offered my help. I asked him to forgive me for not having had any ill intent, and all I could do at that moment was pray for him.”
“I had the feeling that I would get to the ball first, and I did,” he said. “Since the field was quite slippery and wet, I ended up hitting the ball and then I didn’t have time to pull my leg back, and that’s how this somewhat harder tackle happened, but without any intention of causing harm to my fellow professional or any malice.”
To support their defence in the disciplinary case, Internacional’s lawyers (Cravo, Pastl e Balbuena Advogados Associados) claimed to have a VAR audio. However, they later asked for the audio to be withdrawn, admitting that it had been retrieved from social media.
Internacional stated: “Both the law firm and Inter emphasise that they never intended to act in bad faith in any way within the context of the proceedings in question…
There was, however, a recognised error in the collection and use of the content presented in the player’s defence, which was immediately acknowledged through an express request to remove the audio from the case file…
The firm, with extensive experience in the field of Sports Law, acknowledges the error and intends to further improve its methods for future trials.”
