Court suspends disciplinary proceedings against Armando Mendonça at Corinthians

By Larissa Beppler and Henrique Vigliotti | Central do Timão newsroom

The São Paulo Court granted this Tuesday (2) an injunction to the vice-president of Corinthians Armando Mendonça and ordered the immediate suspension of the ethical-disciplinary process being processed against the director at the club. The news was initially released by the Time do Povo page and confirmed by Central do Timão, which had access to the decision.

The order was signed by judge Antonio Manssur Filho, of the 2nd Civil Court of the Tatuapé Regional Forum, after Armando filed a lawsuit asking for the annulment of the acts carried out in the procedure conducted by the Corinthians Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, which analyzed possible irregularities in the management of sports materials supplied by Nike to the club.

Photo: Central do Timão

In addition to interrupting the progress of the procedure, the judge prohibited the acting president of the Deliberative Council and president of the Ethics and Discipline Commission Leonardo Pantaleão from carrying out new acts related to the case while he continues to perform both functions. Pantaleão assumed the presidency of the CD after Romeu Tuma Junior's temporary leave of absence in April this year.

In the action, Armando Mendonça alleged that the procedure was initiated with a series of irregularities, including the accumulation of functions on the part of Pantaleão, the lack of prior appointment of a rapporteur to conduct the procedural investigation and the failure to gather documents that, according to the club's internal rules, should be part of the process before the opening of the defense period.

Judge sees plausibility in allegations

After analyzing the request, the judge stated that there are sufficient elements to indicate possible failures in the conduct of the procedure. One of the main points highlighted in the decision was precisely Pantaleão's simultaneous performance in positions that, according to the judge's understanding, should remain separate to guarantee the impartiality of the process.

The judge noted that Corinthians' statute assigns the presidency of the Ethics Committee to the vice-president of the Deliberative Council and that the accumulation of functions by those who may later receive the instructive opinion and guide the final judgment generates a potential conflict of interests.

Another reason accepted by the Court was the lack of prior designation of a reporting advisor before the deadline for presenting the defense. According to the decision, Corinthians' disciplinary regulations provide for a rapporteur to be appointed to conduct the procedural investigation. For the magistrate, demanding a defense without the defendant knowing who the authority responsible for the investigation will be compromises the full exercise of contradictory and broad defense.

The decision also makes reference to the procedure adopted by the Ethics Committee. As recorded by the judge, the opinion of the Justice Commission that preceded the opening of the procedure would not have expressly requested the loss of Armando Mendonça's mandate, but only the investigation of the facts by Ethics. Despite this, the case was received directly under the procedure provided for dismissal of administrators.

When granting urgent protection, the judge also considered the proximity of Armando Mendonça's defense deadline, scheduled for June 9th. The decision records that the vice-president filed administrative embargoes on May 29 pointing out the alleged procedural defects, without the request having been assessed to date.

In view of this, the judge understood that forcing the manager to present a defense in a potentially irregular procedure would constitute a risk of irreparable damage. The judge also highlighted the potential political and institutional impact of continuing the process, both for the public image of the leader and for Corinthians itself, given the possibility of a possible future annulment of the acts carried out.

In the preliminary injunction, the Court immediately suspended the defense period and all acts of instruction, judgment and deliberation linked to the disciplinary proceedings filed against the vice-president. In case of non-compliance with the court order, a fine of R$50,000 was imposed.

In a statement, Leonardo Pantaleão stated that the injunction was granted without his prior manifestation and argued that the disciplinary process will not be interrupted.

"This is an injunction that was granted without any hearing on my part, by the judge. I am convinced that, after the due clarifications, the Magistrate will understand the facts, in the appropriate way. However, this does not change the course of the procedure, which will continue with the other members of the Ethics Committee. It is worth highlighting that the injunction does not prevent the Ethics Committee from acting, and nor could it, it only imposes a momentary restriction on my direct participation in this procedure", he stated.

Decision may have repercussions in other cases

Behind the scenes at Parque São Jorge, the injunction granted to Armando Mendonça is already seen as a decision with the potential to produce consequences that go beyond the case of the vice president. The assessment of sources heard by the report is that the foundations adopted by the Court may open space for new questions about disciplinary procedures recently conducted by the club's internal bodies.

In this context, there is an expectation that the defenses of former presidents Andrés Sanchez and Augusto Melo will analyze the feasibility of challenging in court the processes that culminated in the expulsion of both from the membership last week, based on arguments similar to those accepted, on an injunction basis, in the action filed by Armando Mendonça.

Corinthians News

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Source: Timao Central