Flamengo footballer banned for 12 games and fined over betting scandal

While he was acquitted of deliberately harming Flamengo, Bruno Henrique was found to have influenced the outcome of a game.

Flamengo footballer Bruno Henrique has been suspended for 12 games and slapped with a BRL60,000 ($11,112) fine after he was found to have acted unethically to influence the outcome of a match for betting purposes.

Henrique was sentenced on Thursday by the First Disciplinary Committee of Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), after being found guilty on a majority vote of intentionally getting a yellow card in a 2023 game between Flamengo and Santos.

It follows an investigation from the Federal Police, which uncovered an “overwhelming number of bets” placed on Henrique getting the yellow card, with all 19 of these bets placed from accounts in the Belo Horizonte region, Henrique’s hometown.

Sportradar submitted a report to the investigation, which flagged the same suspicious behaviour.

Alongside Henrique, four other amateur athletes were also charged, including three of his friends, as well as Henrique’s brother, Wander Nunes Pinto Junior, who was found to be the organiser of the bets.

The three friends were suspended for between six and seven matches, while Henrique’s brother was banned for 12 games. With the sentencing handed down by a lower court, the decision can yet be appealed in front of the full court.

Henrique, who has played two games for Brazil, denied the charges, saying: “I never committed the offences I am accused of.”

Henrique not guilty of deliberately harming Flamengo

Initially, the Prosecutor’s Office charged Henrique with two articles of the Brazilian Judicial Code.

The first was Article 243, which relates to harming his own team, while Article 243-A is acting to influence the outcome of a match.

Following the conclusion of the arguments in the STJD, reporting judge Alcino Guedes announced the acquittal of Henrique on Article 243, saying: “I do not see in the conduct of the accused Bruno Henrique any evidence of deliberately acting in a way that harmed his team.”

But Guedes did find Henrique guilty of Article 243-A, handing down the minimum penalty of a 12-match ban and a BRL60,000 fine.

Henrique’s brother Wander was described by Guedes as the “mastermind” and “coordinator” of the betting, applying the maximum penalty of a 24-match suspension, though he reduced this by half due to Wander being an amateur athlete.

Guedes also granted the Prosecutor Office’s request to send a letter to the Brazilian Football Confederation regarding the decision, which will then be forwarded to FIFA.

The letter will seek to extend the effects of the penalties handed down by the STJD to the athlete’s registration with FIFA so that the sanctions apply internationally.

Notably, Henrique was defended by attorney and Flamengo representative Michel Assef Filho, who reiterated the club’s support for the player over the betting controversy.

“If Flamengo believed that Bruno Henrique took any action to harm the club, I wouldn’t be here,” Filho said. “We’re here because we understand there was no violation. There was no action by Bruno Henrique that could have affected the outcome of the match.”