SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� Inter Porto Alegre defender V铆ctor Gabriel has been suspended from Brazilian soccer until Cruzeiro forward returns to training following recovery from a broken leg.
The sanction was handed down Tuesday by Brazil鈥檚 Superior Court of Sports Justice, the country鈥檚 highest independent body for sports discipline.
The court deemed a standard penalty insufficient given the severity of the incident. Pec suffered a left tibia fracture in a challenge from V铆ctor Gabriel in a league game on July 22.
While the court’s suspension is capped at 180 days, it could end sooner if Pec is medically cleared to return to practice ahead of that time. The decision can be appealed.
V铆ctor Gabriel told the court he had no intention of causing injury to Pec, in the MLS before joining Cruzeiro for a club-record fee of at least $12 million during the World Cup break.
鈥淚鈥檝e had sleepless nights praying for him, and I offer a heartfelt apology to everyone at ,鈥� he said.
V铆ctor Gabriel was charged with violent play under Article 254 of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice, and received the extended penalty under a provision that allows an offender鈥檚 suspension to match the injured player鈥檚 recovery time in cases of severe injury.
The ruling was not unanimous. One of the adjudicators, Rodrigo Steinmann Bayer, initially voted for a standard six-match suspension without the time-based extension.
However, court president Jorge Octavio Lavocat Galv茫o along with Eduardo Xible Salles Ramos and Aline Gon莽alves Jatahy voted to enforce the lengthier penalty.
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