Overview
- The Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva ruled on Tuesday, July 28, to suspend Internacional centre‑back Victor Gabriel until Gabriel Pec of Cruzeiro is fit to resume team training, with a legal maximum of 180 days.
- The punishment stems from a violent challenge in the Cruzeiro–Internacional match on July 22 that broke Pec’s tibia and led to surgery, and the suspension was applied under Article 254 of the Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva with the paragraph 3 aggravant.
- The case split the tribunal: relator Rodrigo Steinmann Bayer voted for a fixed six‑match ban, while a majority of auditors accepted the Procuradoria’s request to condition the suspension on Pec’s medical recovery.
- Victor Gabriel gave testimony, expressed remorse and publicly apologised to Pec and Cruzeiro during the hearing, but the Procuradoria maintained the more severe, recovery‑linked sanction.
- The ruling immediately removes one defensive option for coach Paulo Pezzolano and could last through Pec’s expected three‑to‑four month rehabilitation, changing Internacional’s squad planning for the coming months.