The Italian coach was announced by the entity on Monday (12/5) to take over the position after Dorival Júnior was fired.
Ednaldo Rodrigues was in a hurry, “really hurry”, to close a deal with Carlo Ancelotti and announce the coach’s hiring on Monday (12), a source close to the president of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) told reporters. The official wanted to stifle his summons to appear early this Monday afternoon at a hearing at the TJ-RJ (Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro), which is investigating the authenticity of the signature of Antônio Carlos Nunes Lima, Colonel Nunes, in the agreement that validated the first election won by Ednaldo.
Former vice-president of the CBF, Nunes was also called, but his lawyer, André Mattos, claimed that, for health reasons, he would not be able to appear in court. The hearing has been postponed, with no scheduled date yet. The former club director was one of the signatories to the TAC (Conduct Adjustment Agreement) signed between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the CBF to avoid questions about the process that led Ednaldo to become president of the organization. The MP’s jurisdiction over such an agreement, however, is being questioned.
In 16 days, on May 28, the STF (Federal Supreme Court) will continue the trial of ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) 7580, which assesses the legitimacy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to enter into this type of agreement with sports organizations.
Ednaldo is currently holding his position due to a preliminary decision by Justice Gilmar Mendes, the rapporteur for the case. Now, the Court will decide whether or not to ratify the preliminary injunction. In the wake of the lawsuit, Congresswoman Daniela Carneiro (União Brasil-RJ) filed a petition requesting the immediate removal of the official, basing her request on a report that questions the authenticity of Colonel Nunes’ signature on the TAC signed earlier this year. Even if he overcomes the obstacles in the TJ and the STF, Ednaldo Rodrigues will still have two more lawsuits to face. On Monday, the CBF Ethics Committee accepted two complaints against the official. One of them was filed after Councilman Marcos Dias Pereira (Podemos-RJ), president of the Human Rights Committee of the Rio de Janeiro City Council, took to the MPT (Public Labor Prosecutor’s Office) complaints he received from CBF employees about moral and sexual harassment, persecution, humiliation, and non-compliance with a TAC signed with the MPT to curb these practices.
The second complaint was filed based on the petition filed by Congresswoman Daniela Carneiro. In both cases, the Ethics Committee will begin an internal investigation. When asked to comment on the allegations, the CBF stated that it “does not comment on matters brought before the Ethics Committee. The committee is an independent body.” At the organization’s headquarters, however, the mood is pessimistic regarding the current president’s permanence. A defeat on any of the fronts on which the club’s director is being investigated could result in his permanent dismissal.
Hence Ednaldo’s rush to finalize Ancelotti’s hiring before the turbulence became even worse and jeopardized the outcome of the negotiations with the Italian. In addition to working conditions, such as salaries, bonuses and goals, the coach was concerned about the political uncertainties within the organization. It was noteworthy, for example, that the CBF announced the deal with the Italian even before any kind of official statement from Real Madrid. The statement about the coach was published at 10:53 am on the organization’s website. At around 3 pm, there was still no statement on the club’s portal. Not even Ancelotti himself had commented on the matter.
The organization, however, is confident that he will be present at the next national team call-up, on May 26, for the matches against Ecuador (June 5, in Guayaquil) and Paraguay (June 10, in São Paulo). A long-standing desire of Ednaldo Rodrigues, the negotiations with the multi-champion coach dragged on in recent weeks and were treated as a “soap opera” by the European press. After back and forth, a determining factor was reportedly a call from the president of the CBF directly to the Real Madrid manager, Florentino Pérez, asking for authorization to resume the negotiations that had cooled down in recent days. In addition, the official.
