A Brazilian court has imposed an unusual suspension on Internacional defender Victor Gabriel, linking the duration of his ban to the recovery of Cruzeiro forward Gabriel Pec, whom he seriously injured.
The Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) ruled Tuesday that Victor Gabriel's suspension could last a maximum of six months or until Pec is cleared to resume playing, whichever comes first. The decision can be appealed.
The incident occurred on July 22 during a Serie A match between Internacional and Cruzeiro. Victor Gabriel was sent off for a tackle that resulted in a fracture of Pec's left tibia. Pec, who had recently joined Cruzeiro from Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy, was making his debut in the match, which Cruzeiro won 2-1.
The STJD deemed a standard penalty insufficient given the severity of the injury. The court stated, "The offender may remain suspended until the injured party is able to return to training, respecting a maximum period of 180 days."
Victor Gabriel expressed remorse for the incident, stating, "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."
During the proceedings, the court questioned the authenticity of evidence provided by Internacional, which included audio from the match's VAR. The club's defense had requested this audio be disregarded due to unproven veracity.
Internacional released a statement acknowledging that the law firm representing them had used an audio recording from social media in their defense. The club and its legal representatives stated they did not intend to act in bad faith but recognized an error in the collection and use of the content presented. They have since requested the removal of the audio from the case file.
