América Futebol Clube-RN must compensate the player Rômulo Sousa da Costa with R$ 17 thousand for moral damages for removing him from the main squad in a “humiliating” situation. The decision was made by the substitute Labor judge Thácia Janny of the 2nd Labor Court of Natal/RN, after considering the evidentiary set of records that corroborated the athlete’s version.
The player claimed that he was hired by América in April 2022 and in June 2023, he was informed by the team’s coach that he would be released and that until the termination of the contract was signed, he would no longer participate in joint training. After the conversation, the player would have started training separately from the main group, including at different times, in addition to being prevented from participating in the team’s games.
Player Romulo da Costa Souza will receive R$17,000 from América for being isolated from the rest of the team. (Image: Canindé Pereira/América-RN)
Rômulo also stated that during this period a WhatsApp group was created separate from the others and that it did not have the same training structure as the main group, and did not have a doctor or physiotherapist. Finally, he claimed to have been “subjected to a situation of humiliation until his release by the CBF”.
In defense, the club stated that the author did not suffer any psychological damage that could characterize the right to compensation and that the athlete’s removal was necessary to discuss the terms relating to the end of the contractual relationship.
When analyzing the case, the judge granted the player’s request, based on termination documents, witness statements and excerpts from reports about the player’s removal from the squad, which corroborated Rômulo’s version.
“Such a situation constitutes, without a doubt, a situation that deprived the employee of the agreed contractual conditions and resulted in the employee being segregated, with the right to sports interaction with other co-workers and conditions of care for their physical and mental.”
The judge highlighted that the club’s conduct is reprehensible, as “in addition to making it difficult for other associations to hire the employee, it also had a direct impact on the simulated termination of the employment contract.”
Based on the above, the judge ordered the club to pay R$17,000 for moral damages to the player.
Lawyer Thiago Dos Santos Soares acts for the athlete.
Read the sentence.