Doping fraud: 2-year ban for Brazil's Olympic football champ Barbosa

DPA
·1 min read
Flamengo's Gabriel Barbosa celebrates after scoring his first goal during Brazilian Championship Serie A soccer match between Fortaleza CEIF and Clube de Regatas do Flamengo at Arena Castelao. Olympic champion footballer Gabriel Barbosa has been banned for two years by Brazil's Anti-Doping Sports Court of Justice in connection with a doping test procedure last year. Alexandre Vidal/Clube de Regatas do Flamengo/dpa
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Olympic champion footballer Gabriel Barbosa has been banned for two years by Brazil's Anti-Doping Sports Court of Justice in connection with a doping test procedure last year.

In a 5-4 ruling, the judges on Monday deemed Barbosa guilty of fraud for delaying an out-of-competition test at his club Flamengo in April 2023, with the ban imposed until April 2025.

Striker Barbosa protested his innocence and said he would appeal the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), insisting that "despite my respect for the court, I never tried to obstruct or fraud a test, and I trust the higher court to exonerate me."

Flamengo said they would support Barbosa's CAS appeal, naming the verdict a surprise and expressing their belief that "no fraud, and not even an attempted fraud, took place which would justify the imposed sanction."

Nicknamed Gabigol, Barbosa was part of the squad that Olympic gold at the home Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. After an unsuccessful stint in Europe at Inter Milan and Benfica, has been at Flamengo since 2019, winning two Brazilian titles and two Copa Libertadores with the Rio-based club.