A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ruled Thursday that the ousted president of the country’s soccer confederation should return to office.
Judge Gilmar Mendes overturned a Rio de Janeiro court ruling on December 7 that removed Ednaldo Rodrigues and all of his executives from their positions in the confederation, known as CBF, due to irregularities in the 2022 electoral process.
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The move comes four days before executives from FIFA and CONMEBOL, the South American soccer body, visit the country to discuss alleged improper interference by third parties at the CBF leadership. Soccer’s governing body threatened to suspend Brazil from international competitions for this reason.
Brazilian justice said there was an “obvious risk of harm” if Brazil was prevented from competing in the Paris Olympic qualifiers this month due to interference. Squads must be submitted to football’s governing body by Friday, and the CBF has not yet submitted its list.
The other 10 judges of Brazil’s highest court will analyze Mendes’ preliminary decision to issue a final ruling on a date to be determined.
Earlier on Thursday, Brazil’s Attorney General Paulo Gonet and the country’s Attorney General’s Office publicly called for Rodrigues to be reinstated in office.
Thursday’s ruling ends a period in which the CBF was led by a court-appointed supervisor, José Perdiz, responsible for organizing new elections. The process was already underway with two candidates seeking the support of local federations and clubs to replace Rodrigues.
Spokespeople for Perdiz and Rodrigues did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Rodrigues first took over as interim president in 2021, after his predecessor, Rogério Caboclo, was suspended for an alleged sexual assault against a CBF employee.
During his mandate, Rodrigues saw his greatest political bet fail. He repeatedly said that he had an agreement with Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to take charge of Brazil in July, but the Italian announced on December 29 that he had extended his contract with Madrid until 2026.
Brazil interim coach Fernando Diniz’s contract ends days before this year’s Copa América, which will be played in the United States. Diniz currently splits his national team duties as coach of Copa Libertadores winner Fluminense.
Rodrigues’ term runs until 2026. He is another CBF president facing legal problems, although he is not involved in corruption cases like his predecessors Ricardo Teixeira, José María Marín and Marco Polo del Nero.
