Brazilian club Flamengo backs Bruno Henrique after claim he deliberately sought yellow card
FILE - Bruno Henrique of Brazil's Flamengo controls the ball during a Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paraguay's Olimpia at Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian club Flamengo has shielded winger Bruno Henrique after he was reportedly accused by federal police of intentionally getting a yellow card in a match.
Local media reported earlier this week that Bruno Henrique was formally accused of getting booked in a Brazilian league match in 2023 so members of his family could profit from it on a betting website.
Advertisement
Coach Filipe Luís said in the early hours of Thursday that the 34-year-old player, who has made two appearances for Brazil's national team, should be presumed innocent.
'I spoke to him. He is fine, absolutely fine. He showed up with all his teammates. The only thing we ask for is the presumption of innocence. A person who has the right to defend himself against the accusations,' the coach said after Flamengo's 6-0 victory over Juventude at the Maracana Stadium late Wednesday.
'His behavior is that of a person who is completely calm, who went on the field today, was a teammate of his teammates, was a friend of his friends and is absolutely fine,' the coach said, adding that he plans to keep Bruno Henrique in the squad.
Brazil's federal police, who confirmed last year they were investigating Bruno Henrique, did not say whether they had formally accused him after news reports emerged. The player has not spoken about the case, either.
Advertisement
The reports showed an alleged message exchange obtained by federal police between the player and his family members, in which he said he was going to be booked against Santos. Bruno Henrique received a yellow card in that game. It also shows an unusually high number of bets on the Flamengo winger being booked.
Flamengo said on Tuesday it had not been informed by any authorities about the reports on Bruno Henrique, who has helped the club win two Copa Libertadores titles.
Local media have reported that many of the suspicious bets for the player's booking against Santos came from his hometown of Belo Horizonte.
Flamengo leads the Brazilian league with 10 points after four matches.
Advertisement
In May of last year, West Ham and Brazil national team midfielder Lucas Paquetá was charged by English soccer authorities amid allegations he had deliberately received cards during Premier League matches to influence betting markets. Paquetá denies any wrongdoing.
In 2023, investigations by prosecutors in the state of Goias brought charges of alleged manipulation of sports competitions against 15 players across the top two tiers and local leagues. Many of them were suspended from playing the sport in Brazil.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Colombian presidential candidate in a critical condition following assassination attempt
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally at the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had 'barely' responded to medical interventions, that included brain surgery, following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighborhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. 'This is terrible' said Walter Jimenez a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital, with a sign calling for Petro's removal. 'It feels like we are going back to the 1990's,' he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups murdered judges, presidential candidates and journalists with impunity. Petro has condemned the attack and urged his opponents to not use it for political ends. But some Colombians have also asked the president to tone down his rhetoric against opposition leaders. The assassination attempt has stunned the nation, with many politicians describing it as the latest sign of how security has deteriorated in Colombia, where the government is struggling to control violence in rural and urban areas, despite a 2016 peace deal with the nation's largest rebel group. The attack on Uribe comes amid growing animosity between Petro and the Senate over blocked reforms to the nation's labor laws. Petro has organized protests in favor of the reforms, where he has delivered fiery speeches referring to opposition leaders as 'oligarchs' and 'enemies of the people." 'There is no way to argue that the president… who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins has no responsibility in this' Andres Mejia, a prominent political analyst, wrote on X. The Attorney General's office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack against Uribe. Videos captured on social media show a suspect shooting at Uribe from close range. The suspect was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating the attack. On Monday, Colombia's Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that minors in Colombia face sentences of up to eight years in detention for committing murders. Camargo acknowledged that lenient sentences have encouraged armed groups to recruit minors to commit crimes. However, she said that Colombian law also considers that minors who are recruited by armed groups are victims, and is trying to protect them. 'As a society we need to reflect on why a minor is getting caught up in a network of assassins, and what we can do to stop this from happening in the future' she said.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arsenal join Alejandro Garnacho race with Man United wonderkid keen to remain in England
Manchester United are focussing on player sales before turning their attention towards signing a striker, and plenty of big-name stars like Alejandro Garnacho are expected to make way. The Argentine was a regular under Ruben Amorim last season, playing 40 times under the new head coach, but the pair have not always seen eye-to-eye. Advertisement Their first altercation came before the Manchester derby last year, and the second came when the Argentina international reacted badly after his early substitution against Ipswich Town, which again led to tensions. But his comments after the Europa League final snub proved to be the final straw after which the Portuguese tactician asked him to find a new club in the summer. Alejandro Garnacho on his way out Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano recently even confirmed that the 20-year-old would indeed be leaving Old Trafford in the summer with three Premier League clubs monitoring proceedings with interest. Advertisement We already know Chelsea are long-term admirers, while Aston Villa have also been recently linked with a move for the Carrington graduate. Respected Argentine journalist Gaston Edul has now revealed the identity of the third club in question — Arsenal. There is interest from Napoli, who came close to securing his signature in January, while multiple Saudi Pro League sides including Al-Nassr are also keen. Arsenal join the race Atletico Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen, who recently appointed Erik ten Hag as boss, are also eager to get a deal for Alejandro Garnacho over the line but as per Edul, the United No.17 wants to stay in the Premier League. Advertisement 'Two of the three clubs that enquired about Garnacho are Chelsea and Arsenal. Garnacho has a preference to stay in the Premier League.' INEOS were initially demanding at least £50 million for the ex-Atletico Madrid academy ace, and whether they up his asking price to avoid the prospect of selling to a direct rival remains to be seen. United fans will be bitterly disappointed to see one of their own leave for a fierce rival but it is clear that the wonderkid has no future under Amorim. Feature image Clive Brunskill via Getty Images Follow us on Bluesky: @
Miami Herald
41 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
‘Brazen' 688-year-old murder of medieval priest solved. ‘Thirst for vengeance'
In 1337, a priest named John Forde walked down a busy street in London where he was ambushed and killed in broad daylight as crowds milled about. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge have solved the brazen murder, believed to have been carried out at the request of Ela Fitzpayne, an English noblewoman with a 'thirst for revenge,' according to a study published June 6 in the peer-reviewed journal Criminal Law Forum. Researchers called Westcheap, where Forde was killed, London's 'commercial and ceremonial heart.' It was also 'London's most prominent homicide hotspot,' researchers said, adding that Forde's killing ranks among 'one of the most extraordinary events' to take place there. On May 3, 1337, Forde ran into a fellow priest who 'distracted' him with friendly conversation before four men, all with connections to Ela Fitzpayne, attacked him, according to a June 5 news release from the University of Cambridge. One slit his throat with 12-inch dagger and two others stabbed him 'in the belly with long fighting knives,' according to the study. Researchers said Forde's murder was instigated Fitzpayne who had been publicly denounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury for having 'sexual affairs 'with knights and others, single and married, and even with clerics in holy orders,'' including Forde, while she was married, according to the study. Forde's complicated connections to Fitzpayne Records suggest Forde, who was also accused of being in a gang with Fitzpayne and her husband, may have been the one to inform the archbishop of her dalliances, experts said. Forde 'went from being in Ela Fitzpayne's crime gang and possibly her bed, to a player in her denouncement,' according to the release. 'The archbishop imposed heavy, shameful public penance on Ela, which she seems not to have complied with, but may have sparked a thirst for vengeance,' researcher Manuel Eisner said, per the release. 'Not least as John Forde appears to have escaped punishment by the church.' In an effort to 'publicly humiliate' Fitzpayne for her supposed affairs, she was ordered to take 'barefoot walks of shame across Salisbury Cathedral,' and pay large sums of money to the clergy and the poor, experts said. Experts said 'the brutal show of strength' on Westcheap that day may have served to remind 'the clergy of the power of the nobility, and that Ela Fitzpayne doesn't forget or forgive,' according to the news release. 'A woman in 14th century England who raided priories, openly defied the Archbishop of Canterbury, and planned the assassination of a priest,' Eisner said, summing up Fitzpayne's legacy. 'Ela Fitzpayne appears to have been many things, including an extraordinary person,' he said. Ford's was one of 355 unsolved homicides documented by the Medieval Murder Maps project — a database created by the University of Cambridge that visualizes spatial patterns of 14th-century killings in London, Oxford and York, according to the study. The Cambridge news release and the Medieval Murder Maps project lists the year of Forde's killing as 1337, while the study says it occurred in 1336.
