The world association Fifa has threatened the Brazilian football association with an immediate suspension of the national team and all club teams from all international competitions following the court-ordered dismissal of association president Ednaldo Rodrigues. This emerges from a Fifa letter dated December 24th available to the AP news agency. If intervention by the Brazilian football association CBF leads to the election of a new president in January, the sanctions would apply.
In its statutes, FIFA rejects the interference of state bodies – and thus also the ruling of a court in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of December. In the event of a suspension, all officials and referees would also be banned from international games and events.
Fifa and the South American football association CONMEBOL want to form a commission in Brazil on January 8th to deal with the crisis that has been triggered. “Until such a mission is carried out, no decision affecting the CBF, including any elections or election calls, may be made,” the letter said.
At the beginning of December, a court in the state of Rio de Janeiro removed Rodrigues from office as president of the national association CBF. He is accused of irregularities that led to his election last year. According to the court order, a new president must be elected within 30 days. Until then, the head of the country’s sports court, José Perdiz, will take over the business on an interim basis.
Rodrigues’ term actually runs until 2026, making Rodrigues the next CBF president to struggle with legal problems. His predecessor Rogério Caboclo was suspended in connection with a sexual harassment case. Previously, Ricardo Teixeira, José Maria Marin and Marco Polo del Nero were involved in corruption cases.
