Brazilian club Internacional says it made an error after its lawyers submitted a fake audio recording to a football disciplinary hearing, a move that backfired and left defender Vitor Gabriel suspended for as long as it takes the rival forward he injured to recover, rather than the six-match ban originally proposed.
The case stems from a Serie A match in Brazil's 19th round between Internacional and Cruzeiro, two clubs fighting to escape the relegation zone. Cruzeiro won the match 2-1.
In the 59th minute, Internacional defender Vitor Gabriel injured Cruzeiro forward Gabriel Peque with a dangerous lunging tackle that broke his shin. The referee initially let play continue but, after an apparent VAR review, sent Vitor Gabriel off directly.
The tackle drew wide attention, but the story took an unusual turn when Brazil's football disciplinary committee heard the case. With the player present, his club's legal representatives argued their case and pointed out it was the first red card of his career. When they realized the committee had already settled on a six-match ban, the maximum the disciplinary code allows, the lawyers presented an audio recording said to be from the VAR room, in which the VAR referee and assistant could be heard suggesting the referee might not need to show a red card.
A judge spots the fake
The sports judge presiding over the hearing noticed something odd about the recording. It turned out to have been produced by an account run by a lawyer and an economist who satirize problems in Brazilian football in their own way.
The disciplinary committee had originally intended to hand Vitor Gabriel a six-match suspension. Instead, once the recording was exposed as fake, the panel ruled he would stay off the pitch for as long as Peque's recovery takes, estimated at four to six months, with the disciplinary code setting a maximum of 180 days.
A member of the committee said that without the use of the irregular material, they personally would have supported the six-match penalty, but once the video was shown not to be genuine, everyone on the panel changed their mind.
Internacional issued a joint statement with the law firm it has worked with for 20 years, acknowledging the error in how the evidence was gathered. Both the club and the firm denied using the recording with malicious intent, and the club issued a public apology.
The pranksters strike again
News of the blunder spread quickly online, with users mocking Internacional over the episode. The creators of the original parody VAR room video joined in, appearing in referee uniforms in a follow-up clip that was ostensibly meant to apologize for the trouble they had caused. It quickly became clear they were instead using the moment to troll the Porto Alegre club further.
