Abel Braga punished by STJD after homophobic remark | OneFootball

This Thursday, Abel Braga was punished by the Superior Court of Sports Justice for Football (STJD) for homophobic statements. In a trial held by the Sixth Disciplinary Commission of the STJD, a unanimous decision imposed a fine of R$ 20,000 on the technical director of Internacional, who will also have to serve a five-match suspension. The decision is in the first instance and, therefore, can still be appealed.

Abel Braga was judged based on article 243-G of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice after making homophobic remarks during his press conference upon returning as the club's coach at the end of 2025, when he took charge of Colorado amid the threat of relegation in the Brasileirão.

“I said: ‘Man, I don’t want my team training in pink shirts, it looks like a faggot team,” he said at the press conference.

During the session, Abel stated that “there was no intention of any kind,” while his lawyer argued, describing the comment as “unfortunate.”

“There was no discriminatory intent, no incitement to hatred, or a systematic pattern of prejudice. It was truly an unfortunate and isolated incident for which he apologized twice. When we talk about prejudice, it requires the intent to belittle the group,” said lawyer Rogério Pastl.

What article 243-G says

Article 243-G: To commit a discriminatory, disdainful, or outrageous act related to prejudice based on ethnic origin, race, sex, color, age, condition of being elderly or having a disability.

Penalty: suspension of five to ten matches if committed by an athlete, even if a substitute, coach, doctor, or member of the technical staff, and suspension for a period of one hundred and twenty to three hundred and sixty days if committed by any other individual subject to this Code, in addition to a fine ranging from R$ 100 to R$ 100,000.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.