FIFA warned Brazil it could suspend its national teams and clubs from international competitions if an intervention by its soccer body leads to the election of a new president in January.
FIFA said in a letter to a Brazilian soccer executive that the country’s soccer body CBF could face suspension if it does not heed its call to wait and instead holds a swift election to replace Ednaldo Rodrigues as president regardless. The document was obtained by The Associated Press.
A Rio de Janeiro court removed Rodrigues and all his appointees at CBF from office on Dec. 7 due to irregularities in his election last year. Brazil’s two highest courts upheld that ruling last week.
Soccer’s governing body FIFA historically rejects government and third-party interference in its member associations, which ultimately could leave five-time World Cup winners Brazil out of major competitions until the crisis is solved.
The Rio court ruling also named Jos Perdiz, the head of Brazil’s top sports court, a
