The Deliberative Council of the São Paulo vote this Friday on the impeachment of the president Julio Casares. Follow the movements in Morumbis at real time!
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Understand what the vote on Casares’ impeachment will be like in São Paulo
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Casares defends himself
Before voting begins, Julio Casares will defend himself before the councilors. Afterwards, those responsible for the impeachment request also argue. After the rite, voting begins.
There will be a vote!
In total, 223 councilors attended the meeting. The minimum quorum has been reached, therefore, the vote on Julio Casares’ impeachment will take place.
Counting the gifts
The counselors are currently meeting in the main hall of Morumbis. A count of those present is being carried out, both in person and virtually, to determine whether there is a sufficient quorum for voting to begin. Remember: there must be at least 191 advisors.
Crowd protests
While the counselors meet in the main hall, São Paulo fans make noise outside Morumbis. Several banners were extended against President Julio Casares. Some of the main chants sung are: “Fora Casares” and “If the Council doesn’t vote, hello hello, the stick will break”.
(Photo: André Costa/Gazeta Press)
Meeting starting
The São Paulo advisors have already entered the main hall of Morumbis. Alongside his lawyers, Julio Casares is already present at the meeting that will discuss his impeachment.
(Photo: André Costa/Gazeta Press)
How will it work?
Voting in the Council will be completely secret and has already undergone changes since the beginning of the process. Initially, the election would be held 100% in person and, for the approval of Casares’ impeachment, based on article 112 of the club’s Bylaws, two thirds of the councilors would be needed — that is, 171 of the 254 eligible members.
On January 8, in turn, Julio Casares’ defense led Olten Ayres, president of the Deliberative Council, to an interpretation based on article 58, which indicates that 75% of the councilors’ votes would be necessary for the dismissal to be accepted (191 of the 254 members). THE change request was accepted by the CD representativewhich held a press conference and justified the changes.
Faced with this scenario, a group of counselors went to court and filed a lawsuit seeking to promote changes in the quorum necessary to approve the impeachment and also in the format of the meeting. In a decision handed down by the 3rd Civil Court of Butantã, the injunction was accepted and determined that the election be held in a hybrid format, with in-person or virtual votes.
Furthermore, the judge responsible for the decision also understood that it is necessary to have 75% of the councilors (191 councilors) for the meeting to take place, but impeachment can be approved through the favorable votes of two thirds of the counselors (171), as it would be before the CD accepted Casares’ defense request. São Paulo tried to appeal, but the injunction was maintained by the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP).
If the São Paulo Council approves Casares’ impeachment, the president will be immediately removed from his position, which will be assumed by Harry Massis Júnior, the club’s first vice-president. On the other hand, if the dismissal does not pass the CD, the case will be closed.
Possible next steps
If the Deliberative Council gives a positive opinion regarding Casares’ impeachment, Olten Ayres, president of the body, will have to set a date for the General Members’ Assembly, which is the last stage of the dismissal process and involves the participation of the club’s members.
In this scenario, Casares would remain away from his duties until the final result of the General Assembly is announced. If the partners endorse that he should leave his position, the agent will be definitively removed. On the other hand, if the associates are against the dismissal, he returns to the presidential chair normally.
Consequences
If Casares is definitively removed from the presidency after the General Members’ Meeting, he will lose the remainder of his term, which would run until the end of 2026. However, he would remain a member of the club and would be able to run for any other position in a future election.
Who would assume the presidency?
With the possible impeachment of a president, the person who takes over immediately is the vice-president of the current administration, as stated in the club’s Bylaws. In this case, with the eventual dismissal of Julio Casares, the immediate successor is vice Harry Massis Júnior, who has been in office since 2021.
According to the São Paulo Statute, Massis Jr. would remain at the club until the end of the term of the president who was removed. In other words, the new president would command Tricolor until the end of 2026.
Harry Massis Júnior, 80 years old, is a businessman and member of São Paulo since 1964. A lifelong advisor to the club, the professional has held different roles at Tricolor. Between 2001 and 2002, for example, he served as assistant director of football. He was also deputy administrative director between 1992 and 1993.
The reasons
Julio Casares’ management at São Paulo is experiencing its most turbulent period. In view of the recent scandals reported by the press and the investigations opened by the Civil Police, the group of advisors “Salve o Tricolor Paulista” filed the president’s impeachment request based on articles 63, 79 and 112 of the club’s Bylaws.
The political group gathered 57 signatures from advisors. Furthermore, opponents disclosed that of this amount, 13 are political actors considered to be involved in the situation. In other words, former allies of Julio Casares are changing sides on the tricolor political board.
To chronology
Political pressure on Casares began to grow on December 16, 2025, with the revelation of a illegal scheme of selling tickets for shows in a box at Morumbismade by ge. Mara Casares, women’s, cultural and events director at São Paulo and ex-wife of the tricolor president, and Douglas Schwartzmann, assistant director of grassroots football, were cited by name and asked to leave their respective positions. The Civil Police opened an investigation to investigate the case.
Shortly afterwards, on December 22nd, o UOL revealed that the Civil Police are also investigating a alleged money embezzlement scheme already sale of athletesstarted in 2021, when the Casares administration began. It was after this scandal that the group of opposition advisors decided to file the request for impeachment of the tricolor president.
On January 6th of this year, the investigation into Civil Police identified suspicious movements related to Julio Casareshighlighted by reports from Coaf (Financial Activities Control Council). The president of São Paulo would have received R$1.5 million in cash deposits into his current account between January 2023 and May 2025, a period in which he was already managing Tricolor. Through an official note, the agent’s lawyers ruled out any type of irregularity.
35 cash withdrawals were also identified from the club’s accounts, between 2021 and 2025, totaling R$11 million. Given this scenario, the Civil Police began investigating Nelson Marques Ferreiraformer assistant director of football, who would have opened 15 companies precisely during the period in which he worked at the club, as revealed by Fantastic. Authorities are trying to understand whether there is any type of connection between the opening of companies and possible embezzlement of money.
Last Thursday, one day before the impeachment vote, the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo (MP-SP) opened a civil inquiry to investigate possible reckless management in São Paulowith signs of asset dilapidation, misuse of purpose, favoritism of third parties or family members of directors and possible irregular use of public resources or tax benefits.
To collect information, the agency listed a series of names and entities that can be called upon to provide information and clarifications. On the list, in addition to Julio Casares, president of São Paulo, and members of the club’s board of directors, are Samir Xaud, president of the CBF, and Reinaldo Carneiro Bastos, president of the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF).
Loss of support
After the scandals, Casares lost support from the fans. The main organizations of São Paulo — Independente and Dragões da Real — have already expressed themselves for the first time in a forceful way demanding the resignation of Julio Casares.
