May 20 – Brazil has lost its seat on the FIFA Council following CONMEBOL’s decision to replace former Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) boss Ednaldo Rodrigues with Argentina’s Claudio Tapia as its representative on an interim basis.
The decision comes after Rodrigues was removed from his position as CBF President for a second time by a court in Rio de Janeiro in a case relating to the alleged falsification of documents ahead of his re-election in March this year.
The 71-year-old had been the subject of a pair of petitions to Brazil’s Supreme Court – one of which was from congresswoman Daniela Carneiro who had called for Rodrigues’ suspension from his position, with the court duly obliging.
The verdict means that Brazil won’t have a representative on one of the highest decision-making bodies in world football. Two years ago, Rodrigues became a member of the FIFA Council after he maneuvered to oust Fernando Sarney, who had sat on the body since 2016.
In an ironic twist of fate, Sarney has now been named by the court as the interim president of the CBF, with Brazil’s governing body ordered to stage fresh elections on 25 May. Samir Xaud, the president of the Roraima Football Federation, is the only candidate for the position.
Before Sarney, Ricardo Teixeira sat on the FIFA Council. The former CBF boss, however, was indicted in FIFAGate, but he remains in Brazil which does not extradite its citizens to the United States. It’s understood that Teixeira still wields a considerable degree of influence in the CBF.
Tapia, the current president of the Argentine Football Association and Liga Profesional de Fútbol, will sit on the FIFA Council on an interim basis after gaining support from ten member associations of CONMEBOL.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1747771633labto1747771633ofdlr1747771633owedi1747771633sni@i1747771633tnuk.1747771633ardni1747771633mas1747771633