Augusto Melo's lawyer criticizes the conduct of the process and promises to go to court

- By Mirella Ramos / Central do Timão Editorial

The Corinthians Deliberative Council approved, on Monday night (1st), the expulsion of Augusto Melo from the club's membership. The former president was tried in a process related to the events of May 31, 2025, when there was an attempt to challenge the vote that had approved his impeachment.

After the decision, lawyer Ricardo Jorge spoke to the press and commented on the arguments presented by the defense during the session. According to him, the strategy adopted focused on questions about the procedural conduct of the case and not on the merits of the accusations.

Photo: Reproduction / Yotube Central do Timão
When analyzing the result of the vote, the defender stated that he already expected the decision and classified the procedure as unfair, alleging a lack of evidence production throughout the investigation.

"The question of the defense that I presented today in relation to former president Augusto Melo was procedural. I understand that the Statute is directly violating due legal process. So much so that, before coming, I already knew what the result would be. It was practically predestined that he would be dismissed. So, my defense was palliative. I came here just to fulfill a ritual of theirs. But now we have judicialized the matter and it will go to court. I consider this unfair, because it is not possible to determine what the his conduct in this regard, since there was no evidence produced. It's very complicated."

Afterwards, the lawyer once again questioned the legality of the procedure adopted by the club and stated that there were failures in the application of the internal rules used during the processing of the case.

"To give you an idea, there is a regulation that they use to conduct the administrative process, but which, statutorily, was not created in a legitimate way. There are no minutes of this regulation. From there, a series of legal aberrations arise, in a broad, constitutional sense and also from the point of view of citizen rights.

The Constitution determines that associations have their own internal regulations, but it also guarantees adversarial proceedings, due legal process and impartiality. What we had here was a political trial, and that is what happened. I believe that this decision can be reviewed by the courts. I also leave here with my head held high, with the feeling that I fought a good fight. Unfortunately, this is a political system. The court has not yet ruled on the case."

Before the vote, Augusto Melo's defense had filed an injunction with the Court to try to suspend the trial. The request, however, was not accepted.

When asked about the legal action, Ricardo Jorge explained that the main objective is to seek the annulment of the entire administrative process conducted by the club.

"The injunction was requested to suspend the act, but the main object of the action is the annulment of the administrative act as a whole. It is more or less like this: when a citizen responds to a criminal action, the Public Prosecutor's Office presents a complaint, and from there the process begins. It should be the same here. However, the report is generic, it talks about countless crimes and countless conducts, but without specifying. There is no way to exercise the Democratic Rule of Law without a formal accusation."

The lawyer also challenged the participation of members of the Deliberative Council during the process, raising questions about possible conflicts of interest.

"No, not at all. To give you an idea, there are councilors judging other elected councilors, and they themselves are substitutes for these positions. I ask: in what society can someone who has a direct interest in taking over someone else's position judge them? If the person leaves, he takes over. How can this be explained?

Pantaleão, for example, said he couldn't vote. And he didn't really vote. But he deliberated and disposed of the case. On the day of the events, he was a lawyer for Corinthians. In other words, he was an interested party, representing the club. How can someone in this condition judge another person or preside over a procedure without compromising integrity, impartiality and the search for the truth of the facts? That's the point."

Augusto Melo's expulsion occurred after analysis by the Corinthians Ethics and Discipline Commission. The case originated in the aftermath of the meeting held on May 31, 2025, when a group of advisors tried to invalidate the vote that approved the impeachment of the club's then president.

The post Augusto Melo's lawyer criticizes the conduct of the process and promises to go to court first appeared on Central do Timão.

The content Augusto Melo's lawyer criticizes the conduct of the process and promises to seek legal action appears first in Central do Timão.

Source: Timao Central