New thunderclap among the five-time world champions: after Neymar’s serious injury and poor results in series, Brazilian football is in the grip of a new crisis, with the dismissal on Thursday of the president of its federation. Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), was removed from office following a court decision that invalidated an agreement that allowed his election.
“The body will have to carry out new elections within 30 days, and, until then, the president of the Superior Court of Justice (STJD) will be responsible for the administration of the CBF,” explained the 21st private law chamber of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro, in a press release. This court invalidated an agreement between the CBF and the Rio prosecutor’s office, dating from March 2022, which subsequently allowed the election of Mr. Rodrigues at the head of the confederation until 2026. The CBF, which does not did not immediately respond to requests from AFP, will appeal this decision, according to Brazilian media.
In a letter sent Thursday to the Brazilian confederation, Fifa warned that its members were “liable to sanctions” if their internal affairs were subject to external interference. One of the consequences could be the exclusion of Brazil from international competitions, such as the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia (from December 12 to 22), in which Fluminense, champion of the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, must participate. European.
The dismissal of Ednaldo Rodrigues, the first black president of the CBF, could also have an impact on the planned arrival next June of the Italian Carlo Ancelotti as Brazil coach. Mr. Rodrigues was at the head of the negotiations which resulted, according to the confederation, in an agreement by the current coach of Real Madrid to take the reins of the Seleçao at the end of the European season.
The Brazilian national team, whose next big meeting is the Copa America, played in the United States from June 20 to July 16, 2024, is currently led by the Brazilian Fernando Diniz, who combines the functions of coach with his position of coach. coach of Fluminense.
Brazil has had a series of poor performances over the last two months during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, with a draw against Venezuela (1-1) and defeats against Uruguay (2-0), Colombia (2 -1) and Argentina (1-0). The Seleçao, who never fully recovered from the trauma of the 7-1 home defeat against Germany at the 2014 World Cup, failed in the quarter-finals of the last two editions (2018 and 2022) and their last title Supreme dates back to 2002.
The dispute which led to the dismissal of Ednaldo Rodrigues dates back to 2017. That year, the rules for the election of the president of the CBF were modified, giving more weight to regional federations, to the detriment of professional clubs. A modification contested by the prosecution. These new rules were used for the election of the predecessor of Rogerio Caboclo, who chaired the CBF from 2019 to 2021, before being removed from office after being accused of sexual harassment.
Ednaldo Rodrigues was appointed interim president, then formally elected in March 2022, according to new rules validated in an agreement with the prosecution. But the Carioca court ruled that he was not justified in signing it as interim president, knowing that he would benefit from this agreement to get elected.
The CBF has been shaken by numerous crises in recent years. In addition to the accusations of harassment against Mr. Caboclo, three of his predecessors, Ricardo Teixeira (1988-2012), José Maria Marin (2012-2015) and Marco Polo Del Nero (2015-2017) were banned from football authorities for their alleged involvement in the corruption scandal which rocked Fifa a few years ago. Mr. Marin was one of seven senior executives arrested during the historic 2015 raid in a Zurich hotel at the request of American justice, on the sidelines of a Fifa congress.