Brazil’s volleyball Olympic champion Wallace de Souza has been suspended by his club because of a publication glorifying violence against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The club have taken action in response to the incident, said Cruzeiro from near the city of Belo Horizonte, and the penalty applies immediately. How long Wallace is suspended has not been announced.
Wallace apologized as requested by Cruzeiro in a video on Instagram for polling his fans on who would shoot Lula in the face. “Anyone who knows me knows that under no circumstances would I incite violence, especially against our president,” he said. “It was an unfortunate post, I made a mistake.”
Wallace is a Bolsonaro supporter
The National Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian government announced moves against Wallace.
The 35-year-old, who won gold with the Brazilian national team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, is an extreme supporter of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. The right-wing politician was slightly inferior to Lula in the runoff election in October.