Late-night, Olten deputy undoes ethics changes, exposing war at São Paulo | OneFootball

In a decision that further intensifies the political crisis at São Paulo, the vice president of the Deliberative Council, João Farias, on Tuesday night (12) overturned the removal of the five members of the Ethics Committee carried out earlier by the body’s president, Olten Ayres de Abreu.

Farias declared Olten barred from making decisions regarding the panel, since the president himself is a defendant in disciplinary proceedings being conducted by the group.

In the ruling, the vice president accuses Olten of “a conflict of interest of the highest degree” and of using his position to replace his judges with names more favorable to him.

“The act violated the principles of impartiality and morality,” Farias said in his order.

According to the text, Olten had already formally acknowledged that he was barred from handling proceedings in which he appears as a defendant, which makes the removal of the members a “spontaneous confession of subjective incapacity” to intervene in the body.

In addition to protecting the case against Olten, Farias argues that his measure is intended to ensure the continuity of other serious investigations involving figures such as former president Julio Casares and former director Carlos Belmonte.

“Maintaining the original committee is vital to avoid the invalidation of evidence in ongoing internal audit proceedings,” he wrote.

The vice president will take over the leadership duties related to Olten’s case to ensure the impartiality of the judgment, preventing the Council president from choosing who should judge him.

With the annulment, the Committee’s original composition, led by Antônio Maria Patiño Zorz, is expected to resume work immediately.

THE CASE

After the vote on his removal at São Paulo was canceled, São Paulo Deliberative Council president Olten Ayres de Abreu made a move against president Harry Massis Júnior.

On the morning of this Tuesday (12), the official removed almost all members of the Ethics Committee, while keeping valid the acts taken by them up to the present date. Only Luis Braga is expected to remain from the old group that made up the body.

“Such an act is necessary because of the persistent procedural maneuvers, especially though not limited to the denial of the right to present a defense under the terms of the bylaws, contrary to the fundamental principle of adversarial proceedings,” Olten said in his order.

“Throughout the recent inquiries, episodes were observed that undermined the necessary perception of impartiality, including public statements, selective leaks, prejudgment, and conduct incompatible with the atmosphere of balance and serenity expected of a body of this nature,” he added in an official statement released.

“This is not persecution, revenge, or any measure of a personal nature. It is exclusively an administrative and institutional decision aimed at rebuilding trust, restoring harmony among the club’s branches of power, and ensuring that future inquiries take place with absolute respect for due process, the right to a full defense, and independence,” he said.

The problem for Massis is that Olten seems truly committed to steering things toward the opposition. Among the names nominated to make up the body, which are expected to be made official by the end of the day, are several opposition figures, some of whom had even worked with the current administration but left due to friction: Carlos Sadi, Caio Forjaz, Kalil Rocha Abdalla, Fábio Mariz, and Marcelinho Portugal Gouvêa.

Recently, the Ethics Committee issued opinions favorable to punishing Olten himself, in addition to other names linked to Julio Casares’s previous administration. Casares himself was close to having a motion for his expulsion from the club endorsed by them.

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