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Judge Cassio Pereira Brisola, from the 1st Civil Court of the Regional Court of Pinheiros, in São Paulo ordered the Band and presenter Craque Neto to compensate Jorge Sampaoli, former coach of Santos and Flamengo, in R$ 500 thousand for moral damages . On the program “Os Donos da Bola”, on April 17, Neto accused Sampaoli of racism against Arzul, Santos' goalkeeper trainer.

 

“He (Sampaoli) was racist at Santos, never greeted anyone, never spoke Portuguese. This short, idiot. That's a shame, small dick, doesn't know anything about football. It’s a shame for Flamengo to hire a guy like that”, said the presenter at the time.

 

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In its defense, the broadcaster stated that the program only reproduced information received, of national interest in combating racism and that the report is supported by press freedom.

 

 

According to the records, in testimony, Arzul stated that he was treated well by Sampaoli during his time at Santos, and reaffirmed that the coach never committed any act of racism against him or other club employees.

 

For the magistrate, Craque Neto did not practice good journalism, failing to confirm the veracity of the information that was passed on to him. According to Brisola, the statements exceed press freedom, as Neto did not criticize Jorge Sampaoli's work, “attacking him as racist, without proving the fact”.

 

He states that it is undeniable “the public personality of the author, a football coach, having commanded, for better or worse, great Brazilian football teams, being certain that greater or lesser sympathy with his figure does not authorize public mockery with the attribution in fact untrue, tarnishing his personality rights.”

 

“The seriousness of the illicit act against the honor of the plaintiff arises from the audience of the first defendant's program, as well as the reputation of the second defendant on television, which brought the false fact to the attention of people, who may have believed it due to of the credibility of the second defendant”, stated the judge in the decision.

 

Judge Cassio Pereira Brisola also ordered Band and Craque Neto to present a retraction within 15 days, and dismissed Sampaoli's request to prohibit mention of his name by the presenter.

 

The case is being processed at the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJSP) with number 1009717-83.2023.8.26.0011.