FLAMENGO star Bruno Henrique has reportedly been charged with sports fraud.
The charge comes just days before the player was due to play against Chelsea in the Club World Cup.
The Brazilian club will face the Blues on June 20 at the Lincoln Financial Field stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The match will be the second of Enzo Maresca’s side’s campaign in the tournament.
However, striker Henrique has had an indictment filed against him by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Federal District and Territories in Brazil.
The MPDFT filed the complaint for sports fraud and embezzlement.
Henrique’s brother, sister-in-law and cousin have also been charged with the same crimes.
The footballer now faces a nervous wait for the Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories to either accept or reject the complaint.
GE have reported that the complaint is based on Henrique picking up a yellow card in the 2023 Brasileirao against Saintos.
The striker is alleged to have deliberately been cautioned and to have told his brother he would commit the offence.
This allowed brother Wander Nunes Pinto Junior to place a bet beforehand, according to investigators.
The report has claimed that Wander gave the information to other people ahead of the match.
Henrique has protested his innocence amid the charges.
He said: “Yes (I am innocent).
“I didn’t expect it the way it was, but I believe in justice up there.
“God is a guy who always knows. My life, my trajectory, since I started playing soccer… God has always been with me. And, man, I’m calm about it.
“The people who are there in this battle with me, I just ask that justice be done and that what’s off the field be separated from what’s on the field.”
Henrique, 34, previously played his football in Europe as he spent the 206/17 season with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg.
He failed to score a single goal in 17 appearances for the club before returning to Brazil.
He joined Flamengo in 2019 and has scored 101 goals in 306 appearances in all competitions.
However, in the most recent campaign, he only managed six goals in 26 outings in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s first game of the tournament will be against MLS outfit Los Angeles FC.
The Blues will be reunited with former striker Olivier Giroud, who joined the club last summer.
The Frenchman won the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League during his three-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
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