Vini Jr. has filed a lawsuit in Rio de Janeiro against digital influencer Rafael Murmura over Instagram posts that accused the Brazil forward of being under investigation and tied him to betting companies and match-fixing claims. The posts also alleged illicit enrichment and said he had bought a yacht worth about R$150 million.
According to BNLData, the dispute centres on Murmura’s comments about the Brazil vs Norway round-of-16 match at the 2026 World Cup, which eliminated Brazil. Murmura used an Instagram profile with more than 3.5 million followers to say the player was being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to suggest that Brazil’s coaching staff had been told to keep him from taking a free kick because he was sponsored by betting companies.
Vini Jr.’s lawyers asked the court to remove the content, demonetize the posts and donate any profits already earned to charities chosen by the judge. A duty judge granted the requests and ordered Meta, which owns Instagram, to make Murmura’s published content unavailable.
The fight deepened after Murmura published what he described as a screenshot of a message from Vini Jr. The player’s press office denied that he had sent any message, and the purported text told Murmura to prepare for a lawsuit and prove his claims.
Murmura answered in an ironic tone, saying he was not afraid. At the time, there was no official confirmation of any investigation involving the player, and BNLData said Murmura’s profile was then inaccessible.
