Gilmar cites risk of selection outside the Olympics in decision – 01/04/2024 – Sport

Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), cited the possible risk of the Brazilian football team being left out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to determine the reappointment of the removed president of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), Ednaldo Rodrigues, in a decision published this Thursday (4).

Gilmar pointed out that the deadline for registration in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic competition is this Friday (5). According to the minister, Brazil’s inclusion in the dispute could be made impossible if the registration was signed by a leader not accredited by the competent international institutions, Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) and FIFA (International Football Federation).

The measure followed a request from the PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil), which filed an ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) asking for the suspension of the effects of a decision by the TJ-RJ (Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro). He had ordered Rodrigues to be removed from office on December 7th.

The removal had occurred due to the understanding on the part of the TJ-RJ judges that a TAC (Conduct Adjustment Term) signed between the entity and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) of Rio de Janeiro, which paved the way for the election of Rodrigues, it was illegal.

The Rio de Janeiro court appointed the president of the STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice), José Perdiz, as intervenor in the entity.

To reappoint Ednaldo, Gilmar Mendes pointed out that FIFA sent letters saying it did not recognize the intervenor appointed by TJ-RJ as the legitimate representative of the CBF. Gilmar’s decision is valid until the court gives a definitive opinion on the case in plenary, and the reappointment must take place after the director is notified.

“No official document, letter or any other type of official correspondence from the CBF signed exclusively by the authorities appointed by the TJ-RJ would be recognized by either FIFA or Conmebol”, said the minister.

Mendes stated that the intervenor appointed to provisionally manage the CBF also “seems to recognize that there is a problem of representation from the international associative point of view before FIFA and Conmebol”, in a petition attached to the process.

The minister disagreed with the TJ-RJ and said that the Public Ministry does have the legitimacy to intervene in matters relating to sporting entities and the practice of sport in the country, “given the unequivocal social interest inherent to the matter”.

He also highlighted that the celebration of TACs tends to favor consensuality and dialogue between the ministerial entity and sporting entities, “privileging the construction of solutions based on minimal state intervention in the sporting sphere”.

He recalled the position of the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) that the TAC was annulled ex officio by the TJ-RJ, “disregarding the institutional functions of the Public Ministry, its functional autonomy and independence, as well as removing the autonomy of the sports entity, the CBF”.

Gilmar added that the recognition of the alleged illegitimacy of the ministerial entity to carry out judicial and extrajudicial acts would also have the consequence of undoing acts carried out by the entity.

As an example of these events, he cited the general assembly that elected its current leaders, which could expose the confederation “to the application of serious sanctions capable of affecting the proper functioning of Brazilian football as a whole”.

“To avoid losses of this nature while this Supreme Court focuses on the constitutionally adequate parameters of the legitimacy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the sporting field, it is necessary to grant a precautionary measure capable of safeguarding the actions – by all indications constitutional – of the ministerial entity “, he justified.

The minister added that his measure does not constitute state intervention in the CBF, on the contrary, “it privileges its autonomy by restoring the effectiveness of the act itself through which the entity elected its leaders, at the General Electoral Assembly held in March 2022”.

This Thursday, the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) had presented a statement in favor of the reappointment of the director and the suspension of the effects of the TJ-RJ decision.

The body argued that the Constitution guarantees the autonomy of sports entities and associations. Gilmar had determined that the AGU and PGR would respond, within 24 hours, about the request made in the action.

Ednaldo Rodrigues came to command the entity after the departure of his predecessor, Rogério Caboclo, who was the target of allegations of harassment against female employees.

At the time, Rodrigues presided over the CBF on an interim basis and signed a TAC with the Public Ministry, which paved the way for him to be elected later and take up the position.

The adjustment term was the result of a lawsuit filed by the body in mid-2018, which questioned the CBF in relation to the electoral process for the presidency of the confederation.

Some of the vice-presidents of the confederation during the Caboclo administration, however, felt harmed and questioned the validity of the agreement.