Shortly after Carlo Ancelotti was announced as coach of the Brazilian national team, a legal case has cast a shadow over the national association. President Ednaldo Rodrigues was removed from office on Thursday.
Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as the new coach of the Brazilian national team on Monday. Just a few days after his appointment, the current Real Madrid coach is now facing a legal case at the top of the national football association (CBF).
A court in the state of Rio de Janeiro decided on Thursday to remove the board of the Brazilian association, including president Ednaldo Rodrigues, from office. The reason is the invalidity of an agreement for Rodrigues’ re-election in March 2025.
According to the AFP news agency, which reviewed the court documents, the judge in charge, Gabriel de Oliveira Zefiro, doubted that the signatory, Antonio Carlos Nunes de Lima, was mentally capable and assumed that the agreement had been forged.
Second dismissal for Rodrigues
Fernando Sarney, one of the vice presidents of the association, which has been in existence since 1914, will take over on an interim basis. The 69-year-old, who had called for Rodrigues’ dismissal, spoke out in favor of new elections “as soon as possible.” Sarney announced that Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as coach of the Selecao was not in question.
This is the second time Rodrigues has been removed from office: the 71-year-old had already been temporarily suspended in 2023, also due to irregularities in his appointment as president in 2022. However, the former vice president of the association was reinstated shortly afterwards by Brazil’s Supreme Court after FIFA threatened sanctions.
Rodrigues had already been criticized ahead of the early elections in March 2025. With former national team star Ronaldo, a rival candidate for the Brazilian association’s presidential election had emerged for the first time since 1989. However, he withdrew his candidacy shortly before election day due to a lack of support. The 2002 World Cup winner spoke at the time of a “deep crisis” that Brazilian soccer was going through.
