CD vice vows firm stance, seeks to restore Ethics Committee's credibility | OneFootball

Vice-President of the Deliberative Council, Leonardo Pantaleão has promised a firm stance as the president of the Ethics and Discipline Committee of the CD of Corinthians. The lawyer revealed that he has already initiated more than 25 pending investigations.

The press conference last Monday, in fact, updated the progress of internal processes involving the administrations of the three former presidents of Corinthians, investigated for possible misuse of the club's corporate card. Pantaleão preached caution about the cases and opened his presentation by saying that the Ethics Committee cannot act in a vengeful manner.

"The Ethics Committee cannot be interpreted as a place of revenge, because revenge brings a subjective connotation. It brings a non-technical issue, and the Ethics Committee needs to act technically. I cannot bring any concept of revenge into this Committee. It doesn't matter which side it is, against whoever it may be. We have to conduct in a balanced way, and above all in a way that exudes credibility. Corinthians has suffered a lot with this issue, and I don't say it's without reason. But we need to regain that credibility. And we will only be able to do this by acting as we should, with responsibility, with criteria, and that's what we intend to do," said the lawyer.

(Photo: Thais Bueno/Gazeta Press)

Pantaleão, therefore, promised that his management at the helm of the club's Ethics Committee will be guided by impartiality. The Vice-President of the Deliberative Council wants to regain the internal credibility of the body, which he believes is fundamental for the restructuring of Timão.

"Many people must already be thinking 'Ah, he's already covering up', which is the trendy expression. On the contrary. I want to make clear what I have already been saying behind the scenes. My election will be guided by absolute impartiality. The committee will act as it should, it will not yield to pressure, regardless of what is speculated, of what may be circulated. Many fake news are created daily. This ends up harming the progress of the Committee itself. It is not a place of revenge, but of credibility. The processes will move forward, we will not have stagnant processes, regardless of the person involved. Many measures have already been taken, I have already managed to understand how the Ethics Committee is. Ethics, in my view, is the pillar of Corinthians' credibility. If we seek external credibility, we first need to regain internal credibility, which is also very tainted. From what depends on the Committee I preside today, credibility will be regained at Corinthians," he said.

Will Pantaleão continue the proceedings against Tuma?

Pantaleão was even questioned whether he will continue the proceedings instituted against Romeu Tuma Junior in the Ethics and Discipline Committee. The president of Timão's Deliberative Council faces an impeachment request and a request for removal, which was used as an argument by Augusto Melo and councilor Maria Angela de Souza Ocampos in an attempt to regain power in the act of May 31.

The Vice-President of the CD reaffirmed that no one will be favored while he is in the presidential chair of the Ethics Committee. He even revealed that he has already ordered the continuation of the investigation of the procedures involving Tuma and reiterated that no case will be left standing.

"I will never apply that premise attributed to Machiavelli. Favors to friends, and the law to enemies. This will not happen in the Ethics Committee. Here, the law applies to everyone. I have already had the opportunity to observe all the procedures. I have already dispatched and requested the progress of all, each in its specific phase, even setting a deadline in some, under penalty of eventually not respecting the deadline and the rapporteur being replaced. We need to speed up to regain what Corinthians lacks in many sectors: credibility. The same happened with the procedure involving Romeu Tuma Junior," he explained.

"The time has come to analyze the process, I saw that it had been stopped since May 2025 and I ordered the immediate continuation of this process, giving a deadline for the rapporteur to develop the next steps. There is no process that will be left standing. All will be taken to the Deliberative Council for judgment, as it should be. It is a premise that was established from the beginning. I communicated to those closest to me before running, my posture will be like this. This has consolidated and that's what I'm doing. The process involving Romeu was also dispatched to be immediately followed," he added.

Pantaleão's choice for the vice-presidency of the CD

Pantaleão's decision took many by surprise. Some fans questioned why the lawyer left his post as Superintendent of Legal Business in the alvinegra board to assume the vice-presidency of the Deliberative Council and, consequently, the post of president of the Ethics Committee of Corinthians.

The lawyer, in turn, justified the decision based on the feeling that he could do more for Corinthians, even though he is aware of the great responsibility he will face.

"I felt that in this new role, of course, if I were to win the election, I could make a greater contribution to Corinthians. In what sense? From the moment I put myself in the vice post, I automatically assume the presidency of the Ethics Committee and become part of Cori [Guidance Council]. I understood that there would be a larger space there. It was not an exit, it was a choice for greater responsibility," he justified.

"We understand the moment and the affliction of people, but we who are here need to act with great tranquility. We have to resist certain pressures so that things can move forward. The procedures exist and need to be complied with so that we can achieve the objectives," he concluded.

Leonardo Pantaleão was legal director for nine months in the Augusto Melo administration, but left the post in September last year due to political differences. He returned to the club in the interim administration of Osmar Stabile as Superintendent of Legal Business of the club. Now, he holds the post of Vice-President of the Deliberative Council and President of the Ethics and Discipline Committee.

He is responsible for leading internal investigations and suggesting consequences related to the cases that are on the agenda of the Ethics Committee. Pantaleão's goal is to 'zero' all cases and deliberate the respective punishments, if necessary, by the end of 2026.

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