Bruninho defends Wallace after five-year suspension: “Difficult times”

Suspended for five years from any competition organized by entities linked to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), the opposite Wallace de Souza received the support of Bruninho, teammate of the Brazilian national team, this Monday. In a text published on his profile on social networks, the setter exalted the figure of the “friend and companion” and defended him in the midst of the troubled moment that the player is experiencing.

“This is a post to talk about a friend and companion that I had for years in the Brazilian national team”, wrote the player on his social networks. “Wallace is a humble man, a wonderful father and husband and the result of an extremely hard-working family with huge hearts. I know him and his entire family and I have great affection and admiration for all of them.”

Wallace was suspended last week for five years as punishment for a post in which he suggested shooting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) in the face. In an unprecedented movement that caught COB and CBV leaders by surprise, the CECOB dispatch, signed by councilors Ney Bello Filho, Sami Arap, Humberto Aparecido Panzetti and Guilherme Faria da Silva, determines the cut of transfers from the committee destined to the confederation for six months.

“We’ve had our discussions and we don’t always agree on everything. He made a serious mistake and that’s not up for debate, he regretted it, apologized and for those who know him, know it’s true”, continued Bruninho. Together, they won the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

In his post, the lifter highlighted the importance of Wallace in this achievement. “We live in an extremely politicized country and I believe that he was one of the people who exposed what he thought, winning many admirers and, on the other hand, many fierce critics. We live in difficult times, where part of the population lives in an extremist way, on both sides of the coin.”

A supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Wallace published, in January, a message in which he suggested that President Lula take “a shot in the face”. He was even suspended from the courts, but managed to get an injunction from the volleyball STJD to play in the Superliga finals for Cruzeiro last month.

“We will never have the ideal world, I just think that we should live with more empathy and balance in judging the person who throughout his life and career was upright and correct, representing Brazil in the best possible way”, said Bruninho. By entering the court, against the initial recommendation, the CECOB determined that the CBV will stop participating in the entire movement of the Olympic cycle for the next six months.

Wallace’s post: “Shot Lula in the face”

The Olympic medalist’s punishment with the Brazilian volleyball team came after the player suggested a “shot in the face” by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in a publication on social networks in January of this year.

In January, Sada Cruzeiro regretted Wallace’s attitude and announced his removal from the team for an indefinite period, highlighting the need for caution in demonstrations on social networks because of the “delicate” moment in the country. The athlete is a declared supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), defeated at the polls by the PT in the 2022 elections and an enthusiast of expanding access to weapons by the population.

After winning the Superliga with Cruzeiro, he said he was wrong to ask his followers who would shoot Lula and thanked the people who supported him. “I made a mistake off the court, which I apologized for, I regretted it. I don’t want any athlete to go through that”, he said.