November 28 – In one of the harshest rulings meted out for an on-the-field offence, Bastia’s Brazilian striker Brandao has been handed a one-month jail sentence in France for headbutting Paris St-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta in the players’ tunnel back in August.
The 34-year-old broke Motta’s nose in the off-the-field incident, which occurred after PSG’s 2-0 home win over Bastia. Brandao’s lawyer says he expects the judicial sentence to be commuted to community service.
Brandao was playing in only his second match for the Corsican club after joining from Saint Etienne. Security camera footage broadcast on French television, and replayed repeatedly afterwards, showed Brandao standing near the middle of the corridor outside the changing rooms at the Parc des Princes after the Corsicans’ defeat.
Bastia said at the time it “condemns without ambiguity” the player’s actions but also “deplores the behaviour of certain players who never stop insulting and provoking their opponents”.
Nasser al-Khelaifi, PSG president, said immediately after the incident that Brandao should be banned for life. He instead received a six-month ban, the second time in two seasons he has been suspended for foul play having received a three-match ban last season for elbowing another PSG player, Yohan Cabaye.
Brandao is currently injured as well as suspended and won’t be available to play again until February 22. According to the player’s legal team, the severity of the custodial sentence is linked to his status in the game. “This is an extremely severe sentence compared to the criminal record of my client,” Brandao’s lawyer Olivier Martin told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Brandao, a league winner with Marseille in 2010 who did not appear in court to hear his sentence, claims Motta insulted him during the game. “On the pitch Brandao said he’d be waiting for me afterwards, but I never thought he’d actually do it,” Motta told the police later.
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