Corinthians' main supporters' group reacts to councillor's court claim | OneFootball

On the morning of this Sunday (23), Gaviões da Fiel, Corinthians’ main organized supporters’ group, issued an official statement after a remark made by club advisor and lawyer Paulo Pedro, secretary of the club’s Advisory Council (CORI). In an interview with ESPN Brasil, he said that Gaviões “don’t know what they want,” citing their defense of renewing forward Memphis Depay’s contract, which he called “the most absurd in the institution’s history,” while, on the other hand, they were also calling for judicial intervention in Timão.

“Gaviões have lost a lot in recent years. Let’s be realistic, they don’t even know what they want. They let go of Augusto (Melo) in the 19th minute of extra time in the second half. This week they demanded the renewal of the most disgraceful contract in the club’s history. In the same week they went to the Public Prosecutor’s Office headquarters — the same office that in the 2000s wanted Gaviões dissolved — asking for that intervention,” he said.

Photo: Daniel Augusto/Agência Corinthians

In a statement released by Gaviões da Fiel regarding those remarks, the supporters’ group says it is noteworthy where the criticism is coming from, since CORI is supposed to be a body that carefully protects Corinthians’ greatest asset. Timão’s main organized supporters’ group also mentions the halt in the bylaw reform process, which, according to them, has been sabotaged by advisors through court injunctions, while the club continues to deteriorate financially.

Regarding its defense of the judicial intervention process at Corinthians, Gaviões da Fiel argues that such a position is necessary to bring serious management to the club, something that “the Council, historically, has not guaranteed” — see the full official statement below. The supporters’ group also stresses that the role of an advisor is not to belittle those who “support the club in the stands, at the ticket booths, and in the stores,” but rather to “be accountable to the fans.”

Last week, regular and organized Corinthians fans held a series of protests over the club’s institutional situation. Last Wednesday (19), they were in front of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP) and, on the morning of last Saturday (22), they made their demands in front of Parque São Jorge.

Judicial intervention and financial situation

The possible implementation of judicial intervention at Corinthians is being analyzed by prosecutors André Pascoal and Luiz Ambra Neto, who have already taken statements from people linked to the club’s day-to-day operations after receiving reports of irregularities involving the current and previous boards that were in charge of Timão. It is worth noting that, once the opinion is issued, it will be up to the courts to accept or reject the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s decision regarding this process. So far, there is no specific deadline for the investigations to be concluded.

It is also worth remembering that Corinthians is currently barred from registering players because it has been punished with three transfer bans — two by FIFA and one by the National Chamber for Dispute Resolution (CNRD, a CBF body) — over outstanding issues totaling approximately R$ 22 million. In the first quarter, Timão posted a loss of just over R$ 130 million.

The scenario becomes even more concerning when considering the 2025 financial statement, in which, even with the São Paulo State Championship and Copa do Brasil titles, the club posted a deficit of R$ 143 million and total debt of R$ 2.7 billion. The current squad is also facing delays in payments related to image rights, vacation pay, and bonuses for qualifying for the Conmebol Libertadores round of 16.

Osmar Stabile’s administration is also under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP) regarding the hiring of and payment of R$ 676,000 to Mega Assessoria Operacional LTDA for security services. However, the company does not have authorization from the Federal Police to perform this function in the sector. In addition, Corinthians’ payments to Bear Security (R$ 586,000), which is responsible for the current president’s private security, are also being investigated.

Read Gaviões da Fiel’s full official statement below:

Gaviões da Fiel Torcida has become aware of statements attributed to a member of Corinthians’ Advisory Council (CORI), published by ESPN, in which the supporters’ mobilization around judicial intervention and bylaw reform was treated as incoherent.

It is noteworthy where this criticism is coming from. CORI exists, in theory, to guide the club with care for Corinthians’ assets. While the debt soared to nearly R$ 3 billion and questionable contracts piled up, that care was nowhere to be seen. Curious is the voice that now feels comfortable saying what the fans “do not know,” being the same one that did not see — or preferred not to see — the club being gutted from within.

It is not the fans who need to explain their demands. It is the Deliberative Council that needs to explain why the bylaw reform has been stalled for months, why the September 19 assembly remains under threat of suspension at the initiative of advisors, and why those who were supposed to oversee the club approved, year after year, the financial statements that pushed it into the financial abyss.

Gaviões does not shape its demonstrations based on convenience. Demanding transparency, supporting the Public Prosecutor’s investigation, and calling for judicial intervention are not contradictory positions; they are different tools for the same objective: to restore serious management to Corinthians, something the Council, historically, has not guaranteed.

It is telling that part of the Council would rather disqualify those who protest peacefully than answer for its own track record. While advisors debate semantics, the financial hole they were supposed to oversee keeps growing. That is the real problem.

The role of an advisor is not to belittle those who support the club in the stands, at the ticket booths, and in the stores. It is to be accountable to those same fans.

So the question remains, advisor: if the fans do not know what they want, did the Council know what it was doing when it approved, one by one, the financial statements that brought Corinthians to this point?

The war is not between us. The fight is for Corinthians.

The BoardGaviões da Fiel Torcida

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