The São Paulo Deliberative Council changed this Thursday (8) the date of the meeting that will define the future of the club’s president, Julio Casares. Initially scheduled for next Wednesday (14), the vote on the impeachment request was postponed until Friday (16). It was also determined that counselors will only be able to participate in person, at Morumbis.
Casares also obtained a victory with the president of the Deliberative Council, Olten Ayres, who accepted a request from the leader’s defense and decided that 75% of the votes in favor of impeachment will be necessary for Casares to leave the presidency, as provided for in article 58 of the Bylaws.
Initially, as established in article 112 of the regulation, two-thirds of the Council would be needed for the president to be removed.
In practice, 191 votes will now be needed to remove the president. Previously, the number was 170. In total, 254 councilors are eligible to participate in the vote
If approved, the president of the Deliberative Council will have to call a General Assembly within 30 days. Until then, vice-president Harry Massis Junior, aged 80, would assume the presidency on an interim basis, until a member vote takes place. In this assembly, a simple majority would be enough to seal the fate of Julio Casares.
If the removal is confirmed, Harry Massis Junior will serve until December 2026. The election that will define the new president for the three-year period 2027/28/29 is scheduled for the end of the year.
The request for removal is based on the allegation of “reckless administration”, with budget non-compliance in recent years, lack of transparency in the disclosure of the club’s accounts and irregular sales of tickets for boxes.
In December, the website ge.com released audios that indicated an alleged scheme of clandestine ticket sales for a Morumbis box reserved for the president on show days.
After the announcement, Mara Casares, Julio’s ex-wife and then women’s, cultural and events director, and Douglas Schwartzmann, deputy director of grassroots football, stepped down from their positions.
In a statement, São Paulo stated that it “will carry out the due investigation of the facts” and that, based on this, it will adopt the appropriate measures. The club opened two investigations — one internal and one external, with independent audit — to investigate the case.
The information released by the UOL portal that the Civil Police is investigating the receipt of R$ 1.5 million in cash by the club president, in addition to 35 withdrawals totaling R$ 11 million made in São Paulo accounts, also weighed against Casares.
“Investigations are ongoing at the DPPC (Citizenship Protection Police Department), in secret from the courts, which is why the details are preserved to guarantee the autonomy of police work,” the Public Security Secretariat said in a statement.
Lawyers Daniel Bialski and Bruno Borragine, who represent Casares, stated that the financial movements highlighted in the Coaf report “have a lawful and legitimate origin, compatible with the evolution of the financial capacity” of the director.
