STJD prosecutor urges Corinthians to act, backs educational sanctions | OneFootball

The scoreless draw between Corinthians and Palmeiras last Sunday, in the 11th round of the Brazilian Championship, played at Neo Química Arena, continues to generate developments off the pitch. After the match, several complaints surfaced involving players, coaching staff members, and even the black-and-white club itself.

Responsible for reporting the cases to the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), prosecutor Caio Porto Ferreira emphasized that the entity’s focus is not only to punish, but to apply educational sanctions aimed at keeping football confined to the field of play.

Photo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

“I have strongly argued before the court during the hearings that the Prosecutor’s Office does not seek to punish an athlete or a club simply for the sake of punishing. The Prosecutor’s Office wants football to be played fairly, without complaints, without moral insults, without discriminatory acts. So all the Prosecutor’s Office wants is for the sport to be played on the field and not spill outside it, so that Sports Justice does not need to be called upon”, he said in an interview with ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Among the seven charges presented by the prosecutor, six are directed at Corinthians, while only one involves Palmeiras. In the case of the São Paulo club, goalkeeper Hugo Souza (article 243-F, for statements against the refereeing), full-back Matheuzinho (article 254-A, for physical aggression), defensive midfielders André Luiz (article 258, for unsportsmanlike conduct) and Breno Bidon (article 250, for a hostile act in the tunnel) were reported. Goalkeeping coach Luiz Fernando Santos (article 257, for involvement in a brawl) and the club itself also appear on the list, charged under different articles for disorder, time-wasting, racial abuse, and disturbance. Palmeiras, meanwhile, is charged only under article 257, referring to participation in a scuffle.

One of the cases detailed by Caio Porto Ferreira was that of Hugo Souza, who criticized the refereeing after the derby. According to the prosecutor, the statements cast doubt on the referee’s impartiality, which led to the complaint.

“I understood that goalkeeper Hugo Souza’s statements questioned the referee’s honesty or impartiality. By saying that he had officiated in favor of his opponent, he questioned his impartiality. I have taken part in many hearings in which many athletes, coaching staff members, and coaches question the refereeing in a very offensive way. There is, on the field, one player who is the leader, the captain. It is the captain who has to speak with the referee, engage in dialogue, clarify something. It is not after the match that the goalkeeper should be making statements like that”, he explained.

The prosecutor also stressed that he would rather see athletes highlighting technical aspects of the game in interviews. “I would like to hear, in the goalkeeper’s interview, him talking about the excellent save he made; he made an excellent save, I watched the match and praised his save. I would like athletes, when giving interviews, to try to better explain phases of play, interesting moves, so that we, the public, here as fans or viewers, can better understand the match. And not keep discussing what the referee did or did not do”, he added.

Despite the criticism, Hugo Souza played an important role in the derby, making at least three major saves and being fundamental for Corinthians to hold on for the draw, even with two players fewer for much of the second half.

Another point addressed was the sending-off of midfielder André Luiz, who received a red card after making an obscene gesture. For the prosecutor, the punishment needs to serve as an example to prevent this type of behavior from being repeated.

“What I cited in the complaint were precedents. Two rounds ago, there was a Corinthians player making an obscene gesture. Two rounds later, another Corinthians player makes another obscene gesture. Now, if we are not managing to convince them to stop this unnecessary practice, this offensive practice, something is wrong. I believe the punishment, in this case, should be educational, so that Corinthians players, or players from any other club, do not go on to commit obscene acts like this”, he stated.

The incident occurred in the first half, after a challenge with Andreas Pereira. As he got up, the 19-year-old made the gesture toward his opponent and ended up being sent off after a VAR review by referee Flávio Rodrigues de Souza.

In addition, the prosecutor commented on the throwing of a plush object onto the pitch, accompanied by a flag with the number 51, as a provocation aimed at the rival. He compared the case to previous episodes involving a pig’s head, arguing for harsher punishments to avoid repeat offenses.

“Regarding the pig’s head, in the complaint I cited precedents from November 2024 and February 2025. In November 2024, a pig’s head was thrown onto the pitch. In February 2025, a pig’s head was placed at the entrance to Palmeiras’ stadium. The fan from November 2024 was punished, including criminally, but is the crowd still — or someone from that crowd — throwing objects onto the pitch again? Now not a pig’s head, but a plush object? In any case, we need to reflect. And the idea I bring for the panel that will judge the case is: ‘Panel, we need to adopt a punishment that discourages practices like these.’ That is the purpose of the complaint”, he said.

The backstage confusion was also mentioned. After the final whistle, there was a disturbance in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms, involving players and members of the coaching staffs. Despite the involvement of representatives from both clubs, only Palmeiras was formally charged as an institution, with no individual names mentioned.

Finally, Caio Porto Ferreira explained the next steps in the STJD process and indicated that the hearing should take place soon. “The next step now is the filing of the complaint with a disciplinary panel of the STJD. The president of that panel may or may not accept the complaint and assign it to one of the auditors who make up the panel; after that, the hearing of the case will be scheduled. It is quite likely that this case will be heard this week or next, since the STJD has several sessions previously scheduled throughout this period,” he concluded.

While awaiting developments in the sporting sphere, Corinthians turns its attention to the Copa Libertadores. The team takes the field this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., when it hosts Colombia’s Independiente Santa Fe at Neo Química Arena in the second round of the group stage.

See more:

Corinthians News

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