Close to arranging his return to Cruzeiro, striker Henrique Dourado was suspended for 12 months from Chinese football last year (Photo: Hu Zhixuan/Xinhua)
In life, we often don’t foresee how big the consequences of the actions we take will be. Close to becoming Cruzeiro’s new signing, Henrique Dourado saw his routine turn 180 degrees when he ‘lost his mind’ in a Chinese Super League game last year.
It was August 21, 2022, and his team, Henan Jianye, lost 2-0 to Wuhan River, still 15 minutes into the first half. The attacker then ran across the midfield and deliberately bumped into referee Ning Ma, who fell to the grass.
Initially, the referee reacted naturally, but a few seconds later, he warned Dourado with a red card. From that moment on, the act of indiscipline committed by Henrique would become the greatest punishment in the history of Chinese football.
“During the course of the match, I went to talk to the referee about two or three clear fouls on me that he didn’t call. So he said, ‘Shut up, I’m not your father.’ used in English”.
“When he said that, the blood really rose, I never denied it. And then, unfortunately, I ‘bumped’ him (laughs). It was intentional. I bumped into him when I was in the line of the ball, but it was very brazen Unfortunately, the blood rose, but afterwards I fully regretted it and publicly apologized to the referee”, he added.
Dourado has a contract with Cianorte?
Despite not playing since August, Dourado has spent most of the last few months doing physical activities at Cianorte’s training center. The player was registered by the club from Paraná in the CBF’s Daily Newsletter (BID) after terminating with Henan Jianye and being free from suspension, but never entered the field.
The “Ceidor” returns definitively to Brazilian football four years after his departure from Flamengo, for 6 million dollars (R$ 22.3 million at the time). Still in 2019, he played briefly for Palmeiras, on loan from the Chinese.
