Urgent: Casares to resign after São Paulo match, says TV | OneFootball

Julio Casares is expected to leave the presidency of São Paulo after the upcoming match against São Bernardo at Morumbi, for the Campeonato Paulista.

The information was released moments ago by the channel ‘XSports‘, which broadcast the victory of the Tricolor's under-20 team in the São Paulo Junior Cup. The Morumbi club has not officially commented until the publication of this report.

According to the portal ‘Tricolor na Web‘, the São Paulo leader decided to leave the top position of the association after learning from allies that the club's opposition already has 202 votes for his removal in the impeachment vote that will take place this Friday (16) by the Deliberative Council at Morumbi.

An indication of Casares' intentions emerged earlier this evening when São Paulo's official social media profile announced that the social club will operate at normal hours on Friday. Previously, due to the vote, it was going to close earlier and only council members would have access for the vote, scheduled to start at 6:30 PM (Brasília time).

According to ‘Tricolor na Web‘, the result of tonight's match will mark the moment when Casares will announce his resignation. If the team wins, the announcement will be made right after the game. If not, only on Friday morning.

Casares suffered a significant defeat on Wednesday (14), when Judge Mônica Rodrigues Doas de Carvalho, from the 1st Chamber of Private Law of the São Paulo Court of Justice, rejected the appeal filed by São Paulo against a previous favorable decision that reestablished the minimum quorum for the president's impeachment vote, in addition to establishing the hybrid model between in-person and virtual for the election.

In the magistrate's understanding, there are no reasons for changing what was previously determined.

“Initially, although the issue of minimum quorum was discussed, I verify that the accepted decision already admitted that the meeting should observe for its start the minimum presence defended by the appellant. I emphasize that there was no determination on the deliberation quorum, but only on the minimum presence for the opening of the meeting, so it is not appropriate to address the issue at this time. Furthermore, with due respect, I did not see which regulatory provision prohibits the participation of council members electronically,” says a part of the decision.

An injunction issued by Judge Luciane Cristina Silva Tavares, from the 3rd Civil Court of Butantã, at the beginning of the week, had changed the ‘rule’ for impeachment, annulling the decision of the president of the body, Olten Ayres de Abreu, and reverting the rule to open the process of Casares' removal with only 171 favorable votes, in addition to allowing the extraordinary meeting to be held in a hybrid manner.

The legal action was filed by lawyer Amanda Nunes and was moved by council members Caio Forjaz, Daniel Dinis Fonseca, Fabio Machado, José Medicis, José Carlos Ferreira Alves, Kalef João Francisco Neto, Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa, Miguel de Sousa, and Waldo Jose Valim Braga.

The assessment is that several council members with a favorable vote for Casares' removal would not be able to attend the meeting on Friday because they are traveling, on vacation.

The judge responsible for the decision also sees no conflict between articles 58 and 112 of São Paulo's Social Statute. She says that it is necessary to have a 75% quorum (191 council members) for the meeting to be held, but only two-thirds of votes in favor of impeachment for Casares to be removed from the presidency.

“Observing both statutory provisions, it is noted that art. 58, §2º establishes the quorum for voting, that is, the minimum number of council members present, while art. 112 provides for the number of votes necessary for the President's removal. Thus, the second notice is correct, which provides for a minimum quorum of 75% of the Council members for the Meeting aimed at deliberating the President's removal,” writes the judge in her ruling.

Last week, Abreu had rejected the request filed by the opposition for the vote to be held in a hybrid manner. That is, both in-person and virtually, under the argument of expanding the participation of body members and reducing risks related to the external environment and public outcry.

In the meeting's call notice, Abreu argues that the in-person format ensures “the maximum irrefutability of the secret vote, protecting the autonomy of the voting council member.”

Furthermore, he justifies that given the importance of the matter, the in-person vote “is essential for legal security and the unquestionable legitimacy of the final decision.”

But it was not the only measure taken by Abreu, let's say, more lenient to the president. Earlier, he gave a favorable opinion to a request made by Casares himself, to change the necessary quorum of votes for the opening of the impeachment.

In a ruling, the president of the Council recognized the existence of a statutory controversy, as different items of the document provide for different percentages for the approval of the removal.

But, according to him, the understanding is that, given the seriousness of the accusations that led to the vote, the interpretation more favorable to the accused prevails.

With the change, the minimum number of favorable votes for impeachment now rises from 171 to 191, that is, 75% of the Council.

The first step for opening the removal process happens after a formal request from opposition council members to the current tricolor management, who gathered the 57 signatures necessary to initiate the removal of the leader, according to the club's Statute, at the end of December.

With this approval, the president would already be removed from office, with the São Paulo vice president, Harry Massis Júnior, assuming the position.

Even so, however, for the removal process to be completed, Casares will still undergo an assessment in a general assembly with all the club's paying members. A simple majority of the vote would seal the leader's departure.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.