Club Docked Points Over Players Death
Brazilian club Sao Caetano have been docked 24 points for having played full-back Serginho in a first division league match during which he died of a heart attack.
Paulo Sergio de Oliveira Silva, 30, collapsed in the 14th minute of the second half of a match between SaoCaetano and Sao Paulo on October 27 and was taken to hospital where he died.
The autopsy on Serginho showed his heart weighed 600 grammes, three times the weight of a normal heart. Sao Caetano, fourth in the championship with 77 points, now drop back to 14th.
Brazil's Sports Disciplinary Tribunal also banned the club doctor Paulo Forte for 1,440 days and club president Nairo Ferreira for 720 days.
The four-man tribunal reached its verdict after an eight-hour hearing
which ended in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Sao Caetano's lawyer told reporters that the club would appeal.
Police have launched a separate inquiry to determine whether the club knew that Serginho risked collapse.
