Wallace is suspended by Cruzeiro after post about “shooting Lula”

THE Cruzeiro suspended the opposite Wallace, this Tuesday (31), indefinitely. The punishment comes after the player took a poll, on a social network, asking if his followers would shoot the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the face.

In an official note, Cruzeiro informs that Wallace was removed with no expected return and that, in addition, the club from Minas Gerais is attentive to possible legal developments in relation to the case.

“The club demanded from the athlete Wallace a full retraction and an apology to everyone who felt offended by his posts”, says an excerpt from Cruzeiro’s note. This Tuesday, Wallace published the apology on a social network.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I would never incite violence under any circumstances, especially towards our President. So, I come here to apologize, it was an unfortunate post that I ended up making. I was wrong”, said Wallace.

Understand Wallace’s case

Olympic champion with the Brazilian volleyball team at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the player Wallace Leandrocurrently on Cruzeiro, posted a question from a follower on a social network, suggesting an act of violence against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Wallace reposted the follower’s question on Monday (30), asking: “Would you shoot Lula in the face with this 12?”, in reference to a photo in which the player holds a pistol in his hands, on the same social network.

The player then asked: “Would someone do that?”, next to an angel smiley. Below you can see the results of the poll. Hours later, Wallace deleted the post, but prints were already circulating on the internet.

Wallace’s post drew widespread backlash

This Tuesday (31), the Minister of the Social Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta, said, also via social media, that he called the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to take action on Wallace’s post. “We will not tolerate threats made by extremists and scammers!” Pimenta wrote.

Wallace’s post generated a wave of protests from athletes, politicians and artists. The Brazilian Volleyball Confederation published a note repudiating the content of the athlete’s post.

“The CBV repudiates any type of violence or incitement to violent acts, and understands that sport is a tool for propagating values ​​such as respect, tolerance and equality”, said the entity.

The Committee to Combat Discriminations of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), stated that it should denounce Wallace Leandro for the crime of inciting violence. The player’s current club, Cruzeiro said he regretted the publication and apologized to the club’s fans.

Wallace declared his vote for the defeated candidate, Jair Bolsonaro

The volleyball player has photos on his Instagram account with both the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, and the current one, Lula, but he declared his vote for Bolsonaro in the last election. “For Brazil, Jair Messias Bolsonaro 22”, he wrote on the day of the second round of voting.

After Bolsonaro’s defeat at the polls, Wallace posted a photo with President Lula and the message: “Crime in Brazil pays”. In the caption, he added: “Really, Brazil is not for amateurs. Ps: enjoy now before censorship starts”.

Wallace has a career full of titles

In addition to the Olympic title in 2016, Wallace won an Olympic silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012. He also has two silver medals from World Championships, in 2014 and 2018, and another bronze, in 2022.

The player was still champion of the Pan American Games in Guadalajar, in 2011, of the League of Nations, in 2021, in addition to four silver medals from the World League.