Brusque recovers points lost due to racism against Celsinho

The STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice) decided on Thursday (18), by six votes to two, to accept Brusque’s appeal and withdraw the penalty for the loss of three points for the racism case of the then chairman of the deliberative council of the club, Júlio Antônio Petermann, against player Celsinho, from Londrina, in a match played between the teams on August 28, for Série B of the Brazilian Championship.

The court maintained the advisor’s 360-day suspension, with a R$30,000 fine, in addition to the R$60,000 punishment for Brusque for the retrial of the case that took place during the week of the Black Consciousness. The people of Santa Catarina were sentenced with the loss of a field command.

With the change, the team went from 41 to 44 points and, consequently, advanced one position in the competition’s leaderboard, from 15th to 14th place. The new condition, however, still does not mathematically free Brusque from a relegation.

The session started around 11:30 am and lasted for just over five hours. Celsinho participated and even spoke wearing the current version of the Racial Discrimination Observatory shirt, alluding to the fight against racism.

“I’m a father of two, I have to give clarifications daily for this and other situations. I have a son who every single day asks me about this problem. If all that is over in relation to my hair, I’m being cursed. to emphasize: it is a chairman of the board who had to set an example”, said the midfielder, who also recalled the fact reported to the sheet, on August 31, when he witnessed his 14-year-old son and wife crying at home.

“I came across my wife crying, my son crying, my five year old trying to understand, asking why the tears were. Even wondering if I should cut my hair so the mother and brother wouldn’t cry anymore. great damage, great personal and professional damage,” he added at another time.

The judgment was attended by members of the federations of the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Bahia, as well as direct opponents in the fight against relegation, such as Vitória and Ponte Preta.

The decision was by majority vote of the auditors who differed from the rapporteur Maurício Neves Fonseca, who defined the permanence of the loss of the team’s three points in Serie B, as well as the suspension and fines applied to the club and the manager.

Represented by lawyer Osvaldo Sestário Filho, who became known for the defeat in the defense of Portuguesa in the Héverton case, which culminated in the relegation of the São Paulo team to Series B, in 2013, Brusque sought to minimize the case by trying to disqualify the term “bee cluster “, used to offend Celsinho, as a racial insult

Sestário even mentioned defender David Luiz, from Flamengo, stating that the same term would not have racial connotation if applied to the player.

“The bee horn can be an injury, it can be an offense, but a white player with hair like David Luiz can be called a bee’s head? I think so. And would it be racial slur? No, it wouldn’t be,” he said.

The lawyer began his speech saying that the trial “could not be ruled just because we are on the eve of the Black Consciousness”, as well as asking that the decision not have external influence from the media. “We must be aware of any prejudice, any attitude here judged 365 days a year, not just in one day.”

He also argued that the term was unknown to most people, including Celsinho, and that the case was not “extremely serious” while mentioning that black Brusque team athletes, with the same hair, do not feel offended by the term.

Londrina’s lawyer, Eduardo Vargas, criticized Brusque’s position, mentioning that the club “want to see Celsinho’s pain forgotten”.

“Until when will we tolerate racism in Brazilian society? Until when will we be conniving with the speech of Brusque’s lawyer saying that the club cannot be punished in the way it was because there are several athletes with similar hair. Until when are we going to relativize criminal conduct?” .

“That’s like the comrade who says he’s not racist, because ‘he even has a little black friend,'” Vargas added.

Brusque players had a separate representative, lawyer Marcelo Franklin. He argued that the club’s players could not be harmed by an issue in which they were not involved.

The case took place in late August. Celsinho drew the arbitration’s attention to offenses he received from people in the stands.

In the summary, judge Fabio Augusto Sá Júnior reported that a member of the Brusque staff shouted to the shipowner: “Go cut that hair, you bee bunch.”

Afterwards, Brusque even released a note downgrading the case and insinuating that the player wanted to promote himself with the case.

Folha Celsinho said that this was the last straw. “My youngest son is five years old, he doesn’t understand, he just has to play and be a kid. But my oldest and my wife were sorry, especially with Brusque’s note. He and my wife started to cry. They made us cry.”

He also stated that his actions are not limited to sports. He warned that he will also act in the criminal and civil spheres against Brusque and the councilor.

In addition to the weekend episode, the player has already suffered from two other similar situations this season, always with mentions of black power hair.

Two professionals from Rádio Bandeirantes de Goiânia and a broadcaster from Rádio Clube de Belém used racist speeches such as “heavy hair”, “bean flag” and “filthy business” to refer to the player. They apologized publicly and were turned away by the broadcasters.