Find out how the impeachment vote for Julio Casares at São Paulo will work | OneFootball

This Friday, the Deliberative Council of São Paulo will vote on the impeachment of president Julio Casares. With this in mind, Gazeta Esportiva has gathered everything you need to know about the meeting that could temporarily remove the Tricolor leader from office.

Time and Place

The São Paulo council members will gather to vote on Casares’ impeachment at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium, Morumbis. The first call is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time), with the second at 7:00 p.m.

The vote will be held in a hybrid format. São Paulo’s main supporters’ group, Independente, has called on fans to protest before the meeting. Therefore, security around the stadium is expected to be reinforced.

“The call is for the SURVIVAL of São Paulo FC even before the season begins. The scenario is one of institutional chaos and we need to regroup as SPFC fans, forget differences and ideologies, and focus only on what matters right now: Morality!

For that, we have to bring down this management that betrayed both us and you. On January 16, the Deliberative Council will vote on the impeachment of the Casares administration, starting at 6:30 p.m.

At 5:00 p.m. we will start our mobilization. Go to Morumbi, let’s show the strength of our people once again. We didn’t become the most popular by chance. We made it happen, the fans lead, and it’s time to prove, once again, what we are capable of doing TOGETHER, organized and united.

Council members, the message is clear. Vote for impeachment and more, it’s time to seriously consider abolishing lifetime positions. Be true São Paulo fans!,” the supporters’ group posted.

Photo: São Paulo/Disclosure

How it will work

The vote in the Council will be completely secret and has already undergone changes since the process began. Initially, the vote was to be held 100% in person and, for Casares’ impeachment to be approved, based on Article 112 of the club’s Social Statute, two-thirds of the council members would be needed — that is, 171 out of 254 eligible members.

On January 8, however, Julio Casares’ defense presented to Olten Ayres, president of the Deliberative Council, an interpretation based on Article 58, which indicates that 75% of council members’ votes would be needed for removal to be accepted (191 out of 254 members). The request for change was accepted by the head of the Council, who held a press conference and explained the changes.

Given this scenario, a group of council members went to court and filed a lawsuit seeking to change the quorum required for impeachment approval and also the meeting format. In a decision by the 3rd Civil Court of Butantã, the injunction was granted and determined that the vote will be held in a hybrid format, with in-person or virtual votes.

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Additionally, the judge responsible for the decision also ruled that 75% of council members (191) are needed for the meeting to take place, but impeachment can be approved with the favorable votes of two-thirds of the council members (171), as it was before the Council accepted Casares’ defense request. São Paulo tried to appeal, but the injunction was upheld by the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP).

If the São Paulo Council approves Casares’ impeachment, the president will be immediately removed from office, which will be taken over by Harry Massis Júnior, the club’s first vice-president. Conversely, if the removal is not approved by the Council, the case will be closed.

Possible next steps

If the Deliberative Council gives a positive opinion on Casares’ impeachment, Olten Ayres, president of the body, 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 the club’s members.

In this scenario, Casares would remain suspended from his duties until the final result of the General Assembly is announced. If the members confirm that he should leave office, the leader will be permanently removed. On the other hand, if the members are against the removal, he will return to the presidency as usual.

Consequences of possible removal

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

Who would take over the presidency?

With the possible impeachment of a president, the vice-president of the current administration immediately takes over, according to the club’s Social Statute. In this case, with the possible removal of Julio Casares, the immediate successor is vice-president Harry Massis Júnior, who has held the position since 2021.

According to São Paulo’s Statute, Massis Jr. would remain in the club until the end of the removed president’s term. In other words, the new president would lead the Tricolor until the end of 2026.

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

Harry Massis Júnior, vice-president of São Paulo (Photo: Instagram @massisjunior)

The reasons

Julio Casares’ administration at São Paulo is going through its most turbulent period. Amid recent scandals reported by the press and investigations opened by the Civil Police, the “Save the Tricolor Paulista” council group filed the impeachment request against the president based on articles 63, 79, and 112 of the club’s Social Statute.

The political group gathered 57 signatures from council members. In addition, the opposition revealed that of this number, 13 are political actors considered to be from the current administration. In other words, former allies of Julio Casares are switching sides in the Tricolor political landscape.

The chronology

Political pressure on Casares began to increase on December 16, 2025, with the revelation of an illegal ticket sales scheme for concerts in a box at Morumbis, reported by ge. 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 took leave from their respective positions. The Civil Police opened an inquiry to investigate the case.

Soon after, on December 22, UOL revealed that the Civil Police are also investigating a suspected money diversion scheme in player sales, started in 2021, when Casares’ administration began. It was after this scandal that the opposition council group decided to file the impeachment request against the Tricolor leader.

Then, on January 6 of this year, the Civil Police identified suspicious transactions related to Julio Casares, pointed out by reports from Coaf (Financial Activities Control Council). The São Paulo president allegedly received R$ 1.5 million in cash deposits into his checking account between January 2023 and May 2025, a period during which he was already managing the Tricolor. In an official statement, the leader’s lawyers denied any irregularities.

There were also 35 cash withdrawals from the club’s accounts, between 2021 and 2025, totaling R$ 11 million. In light of this, the Civil Police began investigating Nelson Marques Ferreira, former assistant football director, who allegedly opened 15 companies precisely during the period he worked at the club, as revealed by Fantástico. Authorities are trying to understand if there is any connection between the creation of these companies and possible money diversion.

Then, last Thursday, a 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, deviation of purpose, favoritism toward third parties or relatives of directors, and possible irregular use of public resources or tax benefits.

To gather information, the agency listed several names and entities that may be called to provide information and clarifications. 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).

Loss of support from supporters’ groups

After the scandals, São Paulo’s main supporters’ groups — Independente and Dragões da Real — spoke out for the first time, in a strong manner, demanding Julio Casares’ resignation.

“OFFICIAL NOTE: RESIGNATION NOW. RESPECT SPFC!

This is serious, it’s SPFC and that’s why Torcida Independente waited for the police and judicial inquiry to proceed regarding the complaints about Júlio Casares’ management and company, because we couldn’t make a mistake in our stance based on assumptions or lack of evidence. Time has shown the vile, cowardly, and scoundrel truth of the one who claimed to be the ‘president of the stands’.

Never confuse a fan, supporting São Paulo as we always have, with covering up for the board or worse, being part of schemes. São Paulo’s institutional practice with organized supporters has existed since the founding of the club’s first supporters’ group, and was present in the boards that won the 3 World Cups, with honest directors who made history.

For us, it’s fair. After all, it’s EVERY game at Morumbi, across Brazil and the continent, representing São Paulo FC’s fans. Unconditional support for the TEAM amid disastrous administrations saved SPFC from relegation and led our team to the titles that returned. As for bringing down the management, we needed proof. Now we have it. But it’s not us who bring them down, let that be clear.

Today we raise our voice with everyone who wants CASARES OUT but he only leaves by spontaneous RESIGNATION or by Council impeachment. Remember, 1/3 of council members are enough to keep the guy in power. We will point out Council Member by Council Member if necessary.

Mara Casares, Douglas Schwarztmann, the Justice system, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Police, are all involved. We demand that any other council members involved in scandals also be exposed.

ENOUGH of the circus! The team is already training, with no money, no major reinforcements. Not even a football director has been appointed. The ship is adrift. We demand ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ALL and that Justice prevails! We will accept nothing less,” wrote Independente.

  See this post on Instagram   A post shared by @torcidaindependenteoficial

Shielding football?

The political issues at São Paulo seem to be affecting the professional squad on the field. The Tricolor paulista lost to Mirassol in their Paulista Championship debut, 3-0, and already found themselves in trouble after the change in the State Championship format. Coach Hernán Crespo commented on the need to shield the players from backstage problems but acknowledged the complicated situation.

“It’s a delicate moment. I believe in justice. The police are working and there’s no culprit yet, so I follow with confidence, thinking that until proven otherwise, everyone is innocent. Everyone is trying to help, showing up and working every day to improve the situation. The group of players has to be shielded, it’s a problem that has to stay outside. Is it difficult? Very difficult,” he said.

After the win over São Bernardo, Crespo avoided commenting on the political crisis but said he hopes for a quick resolution.

“We have to stay out of political situations, but it does affect us, of course it does. The market, whether they stay or leave. Everyone needs São Paulo to be clear so we can build, with a solid foundation to build an even bigger club. As I said the other day, São Paulo is bigger than all of us together. The most important thing is this: to be united, to work, and whatever has to happen, let it happen. We are focused here, on what we can control, we are doing, which is the game, coaching. Whatever happens, I hope it is resolved quickly, for the good of São Paulo,” said the coach.

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