Board approves impeachment, Julio Casares suspended as São Paulo president | OneFootball

Julio Casares was removed from the presidency of São Paulo this Friday.

The club’s Deliberative Council met in the Morumbis’ main hall and approved the impeachment of the president, whose name had been involved in recent police scandals. There were 188 votes in favor of removal and 45 against, with two blank votes. With Casares’ departure, vice president Harry Massis Júnior temporarily assumes the position.

In total, 235 council members attended the meeting, reaching the minimum quorum. The atmosphere of the meeting was cordial. Initially, Casares and his lawyers defended themselves before the Council. Then, the signatories of the impeachment request also presented their arguments.

Outside, however, there was a lot of pressure. São Paulo fans protested with banners and fireworks around Morumbis, demanding Julio Casares’ impeachment.

The pressure on Casares increased as recent events unfolded. In light of controversies reported in the press and cases under investigation by the Civil Police, fans staged strong demonstrations and protests against the president. São Paulo’s main organized supporter groups, Independente and Dragões da Real, demanded his resignation even before the impeachment vote was scheduled.

Julio Casares at the Deliberative Council meeting (Photo: Publicity/São Paulo FC)

In recent days, the president of the Deliberative Council, Olten Ayres, had granted a request from Casares’ defense, which would make the vote 100% in-person with a 75% quorum required for approval. However, the São Paulo opposition went to court and managed to make the meeting hybrid, requiring two-thirds of the votes for the removal to be approved.

São Paulo appealed the decision, but the court denied the appeal and kept the injunction in effect. In the meantime, Casares lost support from his own allies and close associates.

Who takes over?

With Julio Casares’ removal, the vice president of the current administration immediately takes over, as stated in the club’s Social Statute. In this case, the immediate successor is vice president Harry Massis Júnior, who has held the position since 2021.

According to São Paulo’s Statute, Massis Jr. will remain at the club until the end of the removed president’s term. That is, he will lead Tricolor until the end of 2026.

Harry Massis Júnior, 80, is a businessman and has been a São Paulo member since 1964. A lifetime council member, he has held various roles at Tricolor. Between 2001 and 2002, for example, he served as assistant football director. He was also assistant administrative director between 1992 and 1993.

Next steps

Now, Olten Ayres, president of São Paulo’s Deliberative Council, will have to set a date for the General Assembly of Members, which is the final stage of the removal process and includes the participation of club members.

Casares will remain removed from his duties until the final result of the General Assembly is announced. If the members endorse that he should leave office, the president will be definitively removed. On the other hand, if the members are against the impeachment, he will return to the presidency as normal.

If Julio Casares is definitively removed from the presidency after the General Assembly of Members, he will lose the remainder of his term, which would have lasted until the end of 2026. However, he would remain a club member and be eligible to run for any other position in a future election.

Understanding the crisis

The political crisis at São Paulo began back in 2025 with a “split” between Julio Casares and Carlos Belmonte, former football director, due to issues regarding political succession. The situation became untenable after the 6-0 defeat to Fluminense, which resulted in the departures of Belmonte and directors Nelson Marques Ferreira and Fernando Bracalle Ambrogi.

The pressure on Casares began to mount from December 16, with the revelation of an illegal ticket sales scheme for concerts in a Morumbis box. Mara Casares, women’s, cultural, and events director at São Paulo and ex-wife of the Tricolor president, and Douglas Schwartzmann, assistant youth football director, were named and requested leave from their respective positions. The Civil Police opened an inquiry to investigate the case.

Shortly after, on December 22, the Civil Police also began investigating a supposed embezzlement scheme in the sale of athletes, which began in 2021, at the start of Casares’ administration. In this scenario, the “Salve o Tricolor Paulista” councilor group filed an impeachment request against the president, based on articles 63, 79, and 112 of the club’s Social Statute.

Then, last Tuesday, the Civil Police investigation identified suspicious transactions related to Julio Casares, pointed out by reports from Coaf (Financial Activities Control Council).

The president of São Paulo allegedly received R$ 1.5 million in cash deposits into his checking account between January 2023 and May 2025, during which he was already managing Tricolor. In an official statement, the president’s lawyers claimed there was no irregularity of any kind.

Then, last Thursday, one day before the impeachment vote, the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP) opened a civil inquiry to investigate possible reckless management at São Paulo, with indications of asset dissipation, misuse of purpose, favoritism of third parties or relatives of directors, and possible irregular use of public resources or tax benefits.

To gather information, the agency listed a series of names and entities that may be summoned to provide information and clarification. On the list, besides Julio Casares, president of São Paulo, and members of the club’s board, are Samir Xaud, president of the CBF, and Reinaldo Carneiro Bastos, president of the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF).

Casares Administration

Casares was elected president of São Paulo for the first time in December 2020, leading the club for the 2021-2023 term. Belonging to the “Juntos pelo São Paulo” ticket, with Harry Massis Jr. as vice, he received 155 votes against 78 for the “Resgate Tricolor” ticket, led by Roberto Natel.

In 2023, he ran unopposed and was re-elected president of São Paulo for the 2024-2026 term. There were 194 votes in favor, with 30 blank and ten null votes.

During his time at the helm, Casares won three titles: the Campeonato Paulista (2021), the Copa do Brasil (2023), and the Supercopa do Brasil (2024).

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