Gabigol was suspended for two years for attempted doping control cheating

Gabigol, Flamengo star and River’s tormentor in the 2019 Libertadores, has been suspended for two years for attempted fraud in an anti-doping control. The attacker will have to start serving his sentence from April 2024.

The Brazilian Prosecutor’s Office for Sports Justice had reported striker Gabriel Barbosa “Gabigol” for obstructing a doping test on April 8 at Flamengo’s training center, club sources confirmed to EFE on Friday.

In an official note, Flamengo says that, “as soon as they are notified” of the complaint, they will “act in defense” of their player, who also played for Benfica and Inter.

The complaint stated that “Gabigol” had not respected the protocols for carrying out the test and had even disrespected the agents in charge of collecting the samples that day from the players of the Rio de Janeiro team.

According to the ‘Ge’ portal, the Brazilian international did not want to undergo the test before training, as required by the regulations, he went to lunch and only later agreed to undergo urinalysis, which was also submitted irregularly.

‘Gabigol’ has had a difficult year. His performance dropped over the course of the championship, he lost the untouchable status he had enjoyed in recent years and was the subject of criticism from the Rossoneri fans.

The episode occurred on the eve of the return match of the 2023 Carioca Championship final, which Fluminense won 4-1 against its biggest rival, at the start of the just concluded season.

The Brazilian press has speculated that the striker could move on and join the ranks of Corinthians, another of the country’s big clubs, which has struggled to stay in the first division this year.

However, the court in charge of trying him accepted the charges and Gabigol was convicted of violating the Brazilian Anti-Doping Code for “fraud or attempted fraud in any part of the testing process”.

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