Fresh woes for Brazil football as federation boss dismissed

A court in Rio de Janeiro on May 15 ordered the dismissal of Brazilian football federation head Ednaldo Rodrigues over suspicions that a signature in his employment contract was forged, reports straitstimes.

The decision marks a new blow to Brazilian football, which celebrated some rare good news just four days ago with the announcement that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will take the reins of the national team later in May.

The Rio court said one of the signatories of Rodrigues’s 2025 contract had been mentally unfit to sign, meaning there had been “possible forgery”.

As a result, the judge ruled in a judgment that the employment agreement between Rodrigues and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was “null” and void.

The judge also ordered that the federation hold new leadership elections.

The CBF’s interim president Fernando Jose Sarney said in a statement that the federation would abide by the ruling and call elections “as soon as possible”.

But Brazilian media reported that the body had also appealed the judge’s ruling to the Supreme Court.

Rodrigues, the first Black president of the CBF, told journalists at a Fifa meeting in Asuncion ahead of the ruling that he had “absolute certainty” the document was valid.

He had already been temporarily suspended in 2023 after a court found irregularities with his 2022 election, but was reinstated on orders of a Supreme Court judge after Fifa threatened sanctions against Brazilian football._Agencies.