The Supreme Court of Brazil determined that a footballer cannot be criminally prosecuted for manipulation of results solely for forcing a yellow card, considering that this conduct, although reprehensible, does not fit into the criminal offense provided for in the General Sports Law. With that interpretation, the members of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) granted ‘habeas corpus’ to full-back Igor Cariús, accused of having received money from bettors to be reprimanded when he played a match in the 2022 Brazilian Championship with the Cuiabá club.
By two votes to one, the judges of the highest court accepted the appeal of the footballer’s defense to suspend the criminal proceedings that had been opened against Cariús. According to Judge Gilmar Mendes, whose vote was decisive, causing a single yellow card “is not capable of altering or falsifying the result of a sporting competition”, a requirement required by law to constitute a crime.
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The decision, which annuls the criminal action against Cariús, sets a relevant precedent regarding the limits of criminal liability in cases linked to sports betting, although its effects are restricted to the specific case. The instructor of the process, Judge André Mendonça, voted against the granting of habeas corpus, considering that there were sufficient elements for the opening of the process, but he was in the minority.
Cariús was criminally denounced based on article 198 of the General Sports Law, which penalizes requesting or accepting advantages to alter sports results. The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the player would have received 30,000 reais (about $5,632) to force yellow cards in three days, but the magistrates who benefited him considered that the intention to benefit bets does not appear in the scope of the crime if there is no impact on the result or the competition.
Igor Carius was sanctioned by the STJD for one year
Before reaching the Supreme Court, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) had denied a ‘habeas corpus’, understanding that the cards influence as a tie-breaking criterion and, therefore, can affect the final result of the tournament, an interpretation that was rejected by the Supreme Court. In the sporting field, the player was sanctioned by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), which suspended him for one year.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, however, does not automatically apply to other similar cases, such as that of Flamengo striker Bruno Henrique, also investigated for alleged card manipulation. Bruno Henrique is directly accused of fraud and not of violations of the sports code.
