Court rejects appeal, Augusto Melo’s impeachment at Corinthians upheld | OneFootball

The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP) unanimously denied an appeal by former Corinthians president Augusto Melo, who was seeking the annulment of the extraordinary meeting of the Deliberative Council responsible for approving his removal from office. The ruling was issued last Saturday, October 25.

The 8th Chamber of Private Law, under the rapporteurship of Judge Clara Maria Araújo Xavier, found that there were no irregularities in the club’s internal process and that the procedure observed the Social Statute and the right to a full defense.

(Photo: Peter Leone/O Fotografico/Gazeta Press)

The executive claimed that the president of the Council, Romeu Tuma Júnior, had conducted the process impartially. He also pointed to a restriction of his defense and a lack of judicial reasoning.

The TJ-SP rejected the arguments and reaffirmed that the Judiciary cannot interfere in the merits of internal decisions of private associations. According to the decision, the meetings and summonses followed the statutory rules and the executive had the opportunity to present his case in writing.

With this decision, the first instance ruling that had already dismissed the request remains in effect. The impeachment, therefore, was upheld. Augusto Melo was also ordered to pay R$ 8,000 in attorney’s fees.

Impeachment of Augusto Melo

The Corinthians Deliberative Council approved the removal of Augusto Melo from the presidency in a vote held on May 26 of this year. The body overwhelmingly approved the president’s impeachment due to the scandal involving the betting company VaideBet, the club’s former main sponsor. A few days before the vote, he was indicted by the Civil Police for the crimes of money laundering, aggravated theft, and criminal association.

Five days later, on the 31st of that same month, the president went to Parque São Jorge with some allies and tried to reassume the presidency based on a document signed by Maria Ângela, but the document was not recognized by then interim president Osmar Stabile, who even called the police.

Supporters of Augusto Melo also filed other lawsuits seeking the annulment of the impeachment and even the indictment of the president in the VaideBet case, but several injunctions were denied.

On July 22, Augusto Melo became a defendant in the VaideBet case. The judge accepted the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s complaint and initiated criminal proceedings against the former president for the crimes of aggravated theft, money laundering, and criminal association.

Removed from office, Augusto Melo became ineligible for the next ten years at Corinthians. Since his departure, the club has been presided over by Osmar Stabile, first on an interim basis and then permanently, after an indirect election held on August 25.

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