MIÉ 13 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024 - 12:35hs.
By decree

Lula defends ban on betting on yellow and red cards in sports betting

Brazilian President Lula stated in an interview with Rede TV broadcast this Sunday (10) that he is in favor of a proposal by Senator Jorge Kajuru for the government, by decree, to prohibit bets related to yellow and red cards, hand throws, penalties and corners in football games.

The bets made by the bookmakers, according to the senator's proposal, would only be possible on the final result of the game.

The statements were made during an interview with Kajuru and Senator Leila Barros on the PODK Liberados program. The conversation was recorded on Wednesday (6).

Lula said he agreed with Kajuru's proposal after the senator mentioned the case of Flamengo player Bruno Henrique.

On Tuesday (5), one day before the interview, the Federal Police and the Gaeco (Special Task Force for Combating Organized Crime), from the Federal District Prosecutor's Office, carried out an operation to investigate possible card manipulation to benefit sports bettors.

The main suspect is the Flamengo striker. The athlete's family members, including his brother, cousin and sister-in-law, are suspected of having bet on one of the player's cards. Bruno Henrique is being investigated for a yellow card he received in the 50th minute of the second half of the match between Flamengo and Santos, for the 2023 Brazilian Championship.
 


In the play, the athlete Soteldo, then at Santos, is close to the corner flag and tries to dribble over Bruno Henrique. The red-and-black player tries to stop him, and referee Rafael Rodrigo Klein calls a foul. After the yellow card, Bruno Henrique received a straight red card for complaining. Santos won 2-1.

"That's it, I think it's right. I think it's right because people can even manipulate the result of the game, but it's much harder than manipulating the yellow card, where the player can, in a mean way, provoke the referee to get a yellow card," said Lula after the senator presented the proposal.

Lula mentioned another case of suspicion related to betting, involving Lucas Paquetá.

The Brazilian national team midfielder was accused by the FA (Football Association, the English football federation) of committing fouls to receive yellow cards in four Premier League matches, in 2022 and 2023.

The objective, according to the accusation, was to benefit friends of the player who bet on him receiving a yellow card in the matches.

"I think your proposal is the most decent in the world, you bet on the result, that's it," said Lula to Kajuru.

Source: GMB / Folha