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Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) has decided that 22-year-old Internacional defender Victor Gabriel will have to serve an unprecedented suspension after his red card in a top-flight match last week.

Gabriel was dismissed in a Serie A clash against Cruzeiro. His challenge broke the tibia of former Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gabriel Pec, who had joined the Belo Horizonte club from the Galaxy only this month.

Pec needed surgery after he was hurt on his Cruzeiro debut, and the seriousness of the injury will also have a direct effect on Gabriel.

The idea that a player who injures an opponent should be ruled out for the same period as the injured player has often been discussed, but the issue is complicated by the obvious fact that even red-card tackles that lead to major damage are not always intentional.

The STJD does allow for longer bans in Brazilian sport. The Brazilian Code of Sports Justice (CBJD) permits the offending athlete to be suspended ‘until the injured party returns to training’ in cases of serious violent play. However, such bans are limited to 180 days.

Gabriel has been given a suspension tied to Pec’s recovery after charges were brought against him, and he could be unavailable for six months.

“Gabriel attended the STJD committee hearing and said he regretted what happened, had apologised to Pec, and had not intended to cause him harm,” reports The Athletic.

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The hearing became complicated by the presentation, and later withdrawal, of VAR audio as part of the defence put together by lawyers representing Internacional and their player. The defence team, unable to establish the credibility of the evidence, admitted that the audio they submitted had been sourced from social media.

Gabriel’s own account of the incident was clear in denying any intention. The Internacional defender did not dispute that the tackle was dangerous, but he firmly rejected any suggestion that he had meant to put Pec in danger or injure him.

“I had the feeling that I would get to the ball first, and I did,” Gabriel testified, as reported by The Athletic.

“Since the pitch was quite slippery and wet, I ended up hitting the ball and then I didn’t have time to pull my leg back, and that is how this somewhat harder tackle happened, but without any intention of causing harm to my fellow professional or any malice.”

Gabriel is a central defender who joined the Porto Alegre giants from Sport Recife, initially on loan, in 2024. He made the move permanent in January and has played 22 league matches across the national Serie A and Internacional’s unsuccessful regional championship defence.

Friday’s match against Athletico Paranaense, the first game of what is Gabriel’s third Serie A suspension of the season, saw Internacional suffer their fourth straight league defeat.