SAO PAULO (AP) — A Rio de Janeiro judge removed Ednaldo Rodrigues as Brazilian soccer confederation president on Thursday and ordered new elections “as soon as possible.” The embattled soccer executive later appealed to the country's Supreme Court to be returned to his position.
Rodrigues, who this week announced the signing of Carlo Ancelotti as Brazil’s national team coach, had won re-election in March to remain on the job until 2030.
But judge Gabriel de Oliveira Zefiro's ruling puts a confederation vice president, Fernando Sarney, in charge of organizing a new election. It was Sarney who had asked the court to unseat Rodrigues.
The judge ruled the agreement that validated Rodrigues' first term was null and void — and that without it, Rodrigues should not have been eligible for his second term.
Sarney said in a statement published on the Brazilian confederation website that he had already taken over to organize the new election as the longest-serving vice president of the soccer body. He also said “all sporting activities and current contracts will be preserved,” but it is yet to be clarified whether Ancelotti's deal, confirmed by the confederation and the coach himself, is already valid.
Speaking to TV Globo, Sarney said he will not touch Brazil's deal with Ancelotti.
“Soccer goes on. I am transitory,” Sarney said. “My objective is to hold the election as soon as possible. We need to sort this out to end it, no more fighting in courts.”
It is the second time that Rodrigues has been removed from office by a court’s decision. A similar situation took place in December 2023, as he also negotiated with Ancelotti to take over the national team. The removal was reversed by Brazil’s Supreme Court.
Because of that earlier legal dispute in mind, the confederation vice presidents reached an agreement in January validating Rodrigues' first term and clearing the way for him to run again.
In Thursday's ruling, the judge sided with Sarney, who claimed one of the signatories, the 86-year-old Antonio Carlos Nunes, was not mentally fit to sign the agreement.
The court had scheduled to hear Nunes on Monday to evaluate his mental state, but the hearing was suspended only hours after Ancelotti was announced by the confederation as Brazil's coach.
Zefiro wrote in his ruling that “(Nunes') mental capacity is in doubt since 2018, when he was diagnosed with brain cancer.”
The confederation did not make comments about the case.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press
