Internacional’s technical director, Abel Braga was punished this Thursday (12) by the STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice) for a homophobic statement made at the end of last year. The phrase was said when he was introduced as coach of the Gaucho team in the last two rounds of the Brazilian Championship.
The professional was judged by the 6th Disciplinary Commission of the STJD, which classified him under article 243-G of the CBJD (Brazilian Code of Sports Justice). The item mentions “discriminatory, contemptuous or outrageous act, related to prejudice based on ethnicity, race, sex, sexual orientation, color, age, condition of the elderly or disabled person”.
The punishment provided for in this article is five to ten games of suspension —Abel got the minimum hook. He was also fined R$20,000.
As the decision takes effect after 24 hours, he will be able to be in Inter’s dressing room on Thursday night (12), when the team faces Palmeiras, in Beira-Rio. The punishment is only valid in national competitions.
The complaint against Abel occurred after the Grupo Arco-Íris de Cidadania LGBT, a non-profit organization, presented a report of infraction to the STJD.
At the end of 2025, when presented as Inter’s coach, the professional mentioned a pink shirt used by the club and made a homophobic statement: “I don’t want my fucking team training with a pink shirt, because it looks like a deer team.”
Asked about the offensive phrase in the same interview, the coach stated that it was said “in a relaxed tone”, as part of efforts to motivate his struggling squad.
“I needed to relax my group, you understand. I want the guys to be strong,” he replied, saying his intention was to ease the tension in the locker room.
Then, faced with the negative repercussions, he adopted a different tone in a statement on social media.
“I recognize that I did not make a good comment about the color pink during my press conference. Before this gets out, I apologize. Colors do not define genders. What defines them is character,” he wrote.
