The Office of the Attorney General of the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) requested the Federal Police (PF) to share the complete report and evidence relating to the case of Flamengo striker Bruno Henrique.
The player was indicted by the PF for allegedly forcing a yellow card during a match against Santos for the 2023 Brazilian Championship, with the aim of benefiting bettors.
Paulo Emílio Dantas Nazaré, attorney general of the STJD, made the formal request for the investigative material. In turn, the Federal Police have already requested authorization from the Federal District Court to share the information with the sports court.
It is worth remembering that, last November, the Attorney General’s Office had closed the case. At the time, the agency stated in a note that the alert from Sportradar, a company hired by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to monitor possible manipulations, “did not indicate any evidence of economic benefit from the athlete, since any profits from the bets reported in the alert would be negligible when compared to the player’s monthly salary.”
Now, with the new PF report, the Prosecutor’s Office will analyze the material to possibly take measures in the sports field.
Other indicted
In addition to player Bruno Henrique, the following were indicted:
- Wander Nunes Pinto Júnior (the athlete’s brother)
- Ludymilla Araújo Lima (Wander’s wife)
- Poliana Ester Nunes Cardoso (player’s cousin)
All of these people placed bets, according to the investigation. There is also a second group of bettors made up of Wander’s friends:
- Claudinei Vitor Mosquete Bassan
- Rafaela Cristina Elias Bassan
- Henrique Mosquete do Nascimento
- Andryl Sales Nascimento dos Reis
- Max Evangelista Amorim
- Douglas Ribeiro Pina Barcelos
Bruno Henrique and his brother Wander face charges under Article 200 of the General Sports Law, which prohibits fraud in sports competitions. Consequently, they may receive sentences of two to six years in prison, in addition to being charged with fraud, with a sentence of one to five years. However, the others involved are only charged with fraud.
Details of the investigation into Bruno Henrique
In November 2023, all those investigated were targeted by a search and seizure operation. Federal police officers were at addresses linked to Bruno Henrique, including Flamengo’s Training Center. The player had his cell phone seized during the operation.
In the analysis of the seized devices, the PF found messages between Bruno Henrique and other suspects. In one of them, his brother Wander asks when he would receive the third yellow card, to which the striker replied: “Against Santos”.
The investigation began in August after betting operators reported suspicious movements related to the yellow card received by Bruno Henrique in the game against Santos, in the 31st round of the 2023 Brasileirão, played in Brasília.
Three bookmakers issued an alert about the case, and one of them revealed that bettors directed 98% of all card bets in that match specifically to Bruno Henrique. In another bookmaker, the percentage reached 95%.
At that time, the striker had already received five yellow cards in 22 league games and entered the field on a suspended note against Santos.
During the match, he was booked in second-half injury time after fouling Soteldo when Flamengo was already losing 2-1. He later complained and was sent off by referee Rafael Klein.
Player positioning
Despite the investigation, Flamengo decided not to remove Bruno Henrique from the team. Therefore, the player spoke out about the suspicions days later, after winning the 2023 Copa do Brasil.
Bruno Henrique stated: “My life and my trajectory, since I started playing football, have never been easy. But God has always been with me. I am calm about this, along with my lawyers, agents and people who are in this battle with me. I ask that justice be done.”
The Federal District Public Prosecutor’s Office is now analyzing the Federal Police report. The agency will then decide whether to file charges against all those involved in the case. This stage is therefore a crucial moment in determining whether the legal proceedings will move forward.
Flamengo’s statement on the Bruno Henrique case
On Tuesday night (15), Flamengo spoke out about the PF investigation. In an official statement, the club reported that it had not been officially notified about the case and highlighted the “presumption of innocence” until the process is concluded.
Flamengo stated: “Flamengo has not been officially notified by any public authority about the facts that have been reported by the press about the athlete Bruno Henrique.
The club is committed to complying with the rules of fair play in sport, but also defends the application of the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence and due process, with an emphasis on adversarial proceedings and full defense, values that support the democratic rule of law.”
Bruno Henrique’s press office said that the player will not comment on the case. In addition, the forward should maintain his normal routine at the club and will be available for Wednesday’s game against Juventude, at 9:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship. Currently, Rubro-Negro leads the competition with seven points.