😯 Fake audio swayed hearing that punished centre-back | OneFootball

The fake audio used by Internacional’s legal department in the defense of center-back Victor Gabriel ended up carrying decisive weight in the punishment handed down by the STJD.

This was content that became a "hit" on social media (see below). 

The voting was already underway when auditor Aline Jatahy questioned the authenticity of the material that had been released by Inter.

Messages were already circulating on social media about the likelihood that the content was not genuine, since it came from a parody page called "O VAR Brasileiro."

That information reached the members of the STJD’s Sixth Disciplinary Committee. And the situation changed, as highlighted in a report by Uol. 

Rogério Pastl, Inter’s lawyer in the case, did not deny it when trying to explain himself. 

"Obviously, we submitted it as if it were genuine, but I would have to check that information now. But in any case, out of procedural fairness, since your vote will be decisive on this matter, you should not consider this evidence or suspend the judgment until we can bring that information. The information from the staff who gathered this evidence inside the office is that it was indeed the VAR audio, but I have no way of giving you the source right now, at this moment, unless I stop here and go check the origin of these audios," he said.

At that point, the score was 2 votes to 1 in favor of a harsher punishment for the athlete. 

Aline Jatahy revealed that she was considering opting for the lighter penalty of six matches, following auditor Rodrigo Bayer’s vote. 

A possible tie would have resulted in the lighter punishment for Victor Gabriel.

"I confess that I was even inclined to follow Dr. Rodrigo (Bayer), considering that I did a quick search here and saw that Mr. (Victor) Gabriel had his first sending-off as a professional. That shows he is not a violent player," she began.

But her vote ended up following those of auditor Eduardo Xible and president Jorge Lavocat Galvão.

"But in light of all the arguments and this new fact... everyone has their own value judgment; a request has already been made to remove it, but everyone has their own interpretation and autonomy to judge as they see fit. I will follow in the sense of applying paragraph three." 

Paragraph three of article 254 states that "the accused must remain suspended until the affected athlete is fit to return to training, subject to a maximum period of 180 days."

The decision was made at first instance and, therefore, an appeal may be filed before the Full Bench of the STJD. 

Inter released a statement about the audio

After the judgment and in light of the fallout, the club from Rio Grande do Sul issued a statement.

See the full position below:

The law firm Cravo, Pastl e Balbuena Advogados Associados and Sport Club Internacional are making a public statement to clarify the documentation submitted in the defense of athlete Victor Gabriel in proceedings before the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD).

With 19 years of services rendered to the Club, during which it has always served Sport Club Internacional in an honest, proper, and committed manner, the firm ended up using, in its effort to defend the athlete, an audio that was circulating on social media.

Both the firm and Inter stress that they never had any intention of carrying out any act motivated by bad faith within the scope of the proceedings in question. There was, however, an acknowledged mistake in obtaining and using the content submitted in the player’s defense, which was immediately assumed through an express request to remove the audio from the case file.

The firm, with extensive work in the field of Sports Law, recognizes the mistake and also intends to further improve its methods for future judgments.

Sport Club Internacional and the firm Cravo, Pastl e Balbuena reaffirm their commitment to ethics, transparency, and respect for the institutions that govern Brazilian football.

They did not let the 'controversial' audio slide...

There was no shortage of reactions on social media over what happened at the STJD. 

Could this be a scene from The Office? 

Featured photo: Reprodução/STJD 

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