And what does FIFA care if the judiciary intervenes here? Does FIFA now believe football and its officials are outside the law? Admittedly… to be honest, it feels that way, and not just after Platini and Blatter went virtually unpunished.
That was also my first reaction, but FIFA is basically right here. She criticizes the fact that the Brazilian justice system is removing a football official, and she has no right to do that. It can accuse the official of all sorts of things, book him or impose various penalties, but who the Brazilian Football Association makes its boss is none of the justice system’s business. Theoretically, the association can also make a serial killer its boss, even if he has been in prison for years. The removal would therefore have to be ineffective per se because the judiciary is not entitled to take this step. As FIFA, I would also escalate that.
It’s like the Brazilian judiciary deposing a cardinal. There would be something going on in Rome.
Oh dear, you just made that up by writing without even googling it, right? But at least it was delivered confidently. So the comparison to the church is of course invalid. In Germany, the church enjoys a special constitutional status that derives from historical development and the constitutional order. This status allows religious institutions to regulate internal affairs, including the appointment of clergy, largely autonomously. The Brazilian Football Federation, on the other hand, is a sporting organization that does not enjoy the same legal protection for internal decisions. The accession of a national association to FIFA does not mean that FIFA exercises sovereign rights over the national association. FIFA sets certain rules and standards for its member associations, but these must be seen in the context of international sport and not comparable to state sovereignty. Intervention by the Brazilian judiciary in the management of the Brazilian Football Federation may well be compatible with national law if, for example, this intervention occurs due to illegal acts or violations of Brazilian law.
In Germany, in the event of embezzlement or other serious offenses, state authorities or courts could also intervene and remove a person from the supervisory board of a stock corporation. This would be a measure that is de facto based on existing economic and criminal law. The comparison with the removal of a cardinal by state authorities is flawed anyway, since cardinals are actually part of the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church and their appointment and removal takes place exclusively within the ecclesiastical structure. In the case of the Brazilian Football Confederation and FIFA, they are two separate entities, with FIFA having no direct control over the appointment or removal of management personnel in national associations.
In a constitutional state like Brazil, all (!) organizations, including sports associations, are subject to the country’s laws. This means that they are accountable for their actions and that state institutions can intervene if there are violations of the law. Fortunately!