August 19 – Flamengo have sidelined Eduardo Bandeira de Mello with a membership suspension of 90 days, preventing the former club chairman from voting or participating in the presidential elections later this year.
The club board voted in favour with 52 against 30 to suspend their former president, but Bandeira said he would appeal the decision. “My accusers tortured the club’s statute to find a way to get rid of Flamengo’s membership and electoral process,” said Bandeira in a statement. “In a motivated lawsuit, I was punished for the crime of an opinion. I’m proud to be on the opposite side of them. I will appeal the decision and I am sure that in December I will be in Gávea to vote for my candidate.”
The suspension comes over Bandeira’s claims last year that the fire that killed ten of Flamengo’s youth players in a fire at the club’s training complex in 2019 “would hardly have happened during his term.” Bandeira argued that under his management the players would have started living in proper accommodation earlier and they would not have been subject to sleeping in a container anymore.
“Throughout Flamengo’s victorious 125 years of history,victories on the field have never served to mask petty attitudes and attempts to curtail freedom within the club,” said Bandeira.
“To the thousands of people who in one way or another have shown their solidarity with me these past few days, I offer my deepest thanks. Flamengo belongs to all of us.”
In February 2019, Athila Paixão (14), Arthur Vinícius (14), Bernardo Pisetta (14), Christian Esmério (15), Gedson Santos (14), Jorge Eduardo Santos (15), Pablo Henrique (14), Rykelmo de Souza (16), Samuel Thomas Rosa (15), and Vitor Isaías (15) died in a fire in the makeshift structure, consisting of six steel containers fused together, they were sleeping in. The fire happened on the watch of current president Rodolfo Landim.
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