Falcão leaves Santos after allegations of sexual harassment

Pressured by the weak results of Santos in the season, Paulo Roberto Falcão left the position of technical coordinator of the São Paulo team this Friday.

The announcement was made hours after the former player became news for another reason. He was accused of sexual harassment by an employee of the apart hotel where he lives, on the coast of São Paulo.

“Santos Futebol Clube announces the departure of professional Paulo Roberto Falcão, who held the position of sports coordinator since November 15, 2022”, announced the Santos board.

Almost at the same time, Falcão went public to comment on his departure. He stated that he resigned because of the “recent protests” from the fans, due to the team’s irregularity in the year – the team could end the weekend’s round in the relegation zone of the Brasileirão.

“Out of respect for the fans of Santos Futebol Clube, due to the recent protests against the team’s performance on the field, I decided to leave the position of sports coordinator on this date. My feeling, in the first place, is to defend the image of the institution. Friday, which I received with surprise by the media, I affirm that it did not happen”, stated Falcão.

According to the Public Security Secretariat of São Paulo (SSP), the alleged victim of the case, aged 26, registered the occurrence this Friday and gave testimony. The agency says that steps will still be taken to determine the fact. And he says he will not disclose details about the record because it is a sexual crime investigation.

The Penal Code points out that sexual harassment is “practicing a libidinous act against someone and without their consent with the aim of satisfying one’s own lust or that of a third party”. This is understood as a sexual act without the victim’s consent. The penalty for this crime is from one to five years in prison.

Falcão had been at Santos for a year

Falcão, 69, was a player, commentator and coach before taking on management roles at clubs. He started his career as an athlete at Internacional, in 1973. There he was three times Brazilian champion, in 1975, 1976 and 1979. In 1980, Falcão went to Roma, in Italy. He retired in 1986, when he was defending São Paulo. Between 1976 and until his retirement, the player was a regular on the Brazilian national team’s call-up lists.

In 1990, Falcão took over the national team. Afterwards, he coached América de México, Internacional, Bahia, Sport and Japan, in addition to working as a sports commentator. In 2022, he took over as sports coordinator for Santos. Since 2003, Falcão has been married to presenter Cristina Ranzolin, from RBS TV, Rede Globo’s goddaughter in Rio Grande do Sul.