Urgent! Gabigol, Flamengo striker, is suspended for two years for attempting to dope fraud

Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa, known as Gabigol, received the sentence in the trial of his case involving fraud in the anti-doping test. The Anti-Doping Sports Court session, which began last Wednesday (20) and was restarted this Monday (25), came to an end with the unfavorable decision for the Rubro-negro athlete and suspension of football activities for two years. The penalty is retroactive, that is, it starts counting from the collection, carried out on April 8, 2023. This way, the player would be prevented from playing until April 2025, when the two years end.

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Gabigol was charged with violating article 122 of the Brazilian Anti-Doping Code, which refers to “fraud or attempted fraud of any part of the control process”. The maximum sentence for cases of this type is up to four years. The player can still appeal the decision to the Sports Arbitration Court (TAS), but from the moment he tries to appeal, he will either be acquitted or the maximum penalty will be defined. He can also try to suspend the sentence while the appeal is not judged, that is, he could act while the appeal is evaluated by the courts.

The trial this Monday was conducted by the Anti-Doping Sports Court, in a session that lasted just over two hours. The vote ended with a score of 5 to 4 in favor of Gabigol’s suspension.

Gabigol was represented by the team of lawyer Bichara Neto, who defended Paolo Guerrero in his suspension for doping in the FIFA courts in 2017. The club’s general and legal vice-president Rodrigo Dunshee also participated in the session in defense of the player.

According to those who took the exams, this was Gabigol’s attitude: he didn’t address them before training, after the activity he ignored them and went to lunch, he treated the team with disrespect, he didn’t follow the indicated procedures, he took the collection vessel without notifying anyone, he became irritated when he saw that the officer accompanied him to the bathroom to collect the collection and, in the end, handed over the open vase, contrary to the instructions he had received.

Test took place in April last year

The process known as surprise doping is carried out by the Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) and usually occurs without prior notice in training centers. The test on April 8, 2023 took place on the eve of the second game of the Campeonato Carioca final, in which Fluminense beat Flamengo 4-1 and secured the title.

When the player received the complaint, in December last year, he spoke out together with his family and staff. “The Flamengo player comes out to confirm that the test was carried out and the result was negative. Given such information, there is nothing that could harm or violate protocol rules. We reiterate that, at no time, did the athlete attempt to cheat the exam.“, said the note published on December 22nd of last year, when the attacker officially received the complaint from the Anti-Doping Sports Justice Prosecutor’s Office.

Updated article**