Ultras unite for São Paulo, back squad, warn political factions | OneFootball

Amid a results crisis in the Brazilian Championship and mounting pressure in the fight against relegation, São Paulo’s three main organized supporter groups — Torcida Tricolor Independente, Dragões da Real, and Falange Tricolor — released a joint statement late on Monday night (24), after a meeting they held with the squad at the Barra Funda training center earlier that same day.

In the statement, the supporter groups describe the current situation in São Paulo’s football department as more serious than what was experienced in the 2013 and 2017 seasons.

The document details the meeting held at the club’s training center between fan group leaders, head coach Dorival Júnior, the squad’s players, and Rafinha, shortly after the team returned from Chapecó (SC), where they were defeated by Chapecoense.

The organized supporter groups decided to maintain their “vote of confidence” in the players and coaching staff, choosing to support the team unconditionally during Copa Sudamericana and Brasileirão matches. To that end, they announced that they will unite their drum sections in the stadiums to encourage the team throughout the full 90 minutes.

Late wages and criticism of the club’s financial management

Despite shielding the squad from criticism in the stands, the statement strongly criticizes the club’s management and points to the lack of leadership from the board as the main cause of the team’s imbalance on the pitch. The supporter groups say the players are owed wages that are up to 90 days overdue, praising the squad’s professionalism for not making the issue public.

On the financial side, the statement demands explanations regarding the board’s commercial decisions. The supporter groups publicly question the reasons why the club allegedly passed on a commercial offer worth R$500 million from the company NewC in order to sign a R$140 million deal with Ticketmaster, calling for transparency from the club’s council members about the transaction.

Pressure on political factions and council members

The statement ends with direct warnings to council members and São Paulo’s internal political factions (specifically naming the groups Vanguarda, Participação, Legião, Sempre Tricolor, Somos SPFC, Super, Força São Paulo, Salve o Tricolor Paulista, and Novo São Paulo).

The organized supporter group leaders promise to hold in-person meetings with political representatives to demand administrative responsibility and to fight against the use of the club’s interests for internal electoral disputes.

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