Ethics panel tells Rui Costa to quit over contracts in Belmonte probe | OneFootball

São Paulo’s Ethics Committee filed a request this Wednesday (3) for the dismissal of football executive Rui Costa.

The body claims that the executive refused to hand over documents for an investigation into Carlos Belmonte, former football director under Julio Casares’ administration. Both worked together in the department between 2021 and 2025.

The investigation is looking into Belmonte’s possible reckless management. To do so, the committee — made up of Luiz Augusto Lia Braga, Antônio Maria Patiño Zorz, José Edgard Galvão Machado, Marcelo Felipe Nelli Soares and Milton Jose Neves Junior — requested player contracts, transfer fees and information on intermediaries.

Backed by the club’s lawyer, Felipe Ramos Carvalho, Rui Costa argued that the information is confidential and protects the players’ privacy.

In addition, São Paulo’s legal department believes that the Ethics Committee has no authority to remove Costa, since he is not a club member and the body only has jurisdiction over institutional politics.

The request was sent to Harry Massis, but it is expected to be rejected, since Costa has the unconditional support of the president. Belmonte, meanwhile, left the club and Tricolor politics at the end of 2025.

São Paulo’s football executive has become one of the main targets of criticism from the fans this year, when he was given full powers over the club’s main department. The tipping point was Hernán Crespo’s sudden dismissal in February, when Tricolor were leading the Brazilian Championship. As expected, things intensified with the team’s drop in form, and even Independente, the club’s main organized supporters’ group, is now publicly calling for the executive’s head.

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