147 councilors voted to remove him, five opposed, and four abstained.
Em uma das maiores agremiações do futebol brasileiro, a autoridade institucional afirmou-se com rara contundência: Augusto Melo, que presidiu o Corinthians até ser destituído em agosto de 2025, foi expulso do quadro de sócios do clube por 147 votos a 5 no Conselho Deliberativo. A decisão decorre de sua tentativa de retomar o poder à força em maio do ano anterior, episódio que a Comissão de Ética classificou como grave violação estatutária. Trata-se da segunda expulsão consecutiva de um ex-presidente, sugerindo que o clube atravessa um momento de acerto de contas com sua própria governança.
- Melo chegou ao escritório presidencial do Parque São Jorge acompanhado de aliados e armado com um documento contestável, numa tentativa de reconquistar o cargo do qual havia sido suspenso — o presidente em exercício recusou reconhecê-lo e acionou a polícia.
- A Comissão de Ética, por unanimidade, recomendou a expulsão, enquanto a defesa de Melo tentou sem sucesso obter uma liminar judicial e apresentou dois pedidos alternativos ao conselho, ambos rejeitados antes mesmo da votação principal.
- Com 147 dos 156 conselheiros presentes votando pela expulsão, o resultado foi quase plebiscitário — torcidas organizadas reunidas do lado de fora celebraram com fogos de artifício ao ouvir o placar.
- Dias antes, o ex-presidente Andrés Sanchez havia sido expulso por uso indevido do cartão corporativo do clube, tornando Melo o segundo dirigente consecutivo a perder o vínculo associativo em questão de semanas.
Na noite de segunda-feira, Augusto Melo deixou o Corinthians não apenas como ex-presidente, mas como ex-sócio. O Conselho Deliberativo reunido no Parque São Jorge votou por sua expulsão com placar de 147 a 5 — uma margem que dispensava interpretações. Quatro conselheiros se abstiveram, dos 156 presentes entre mandatos trienais e vitalícios.
A origem da punição remonta a 31 de maio de 2025, quando Melo, já afastado da presidência, compareceu ao escritório presidencial acompanhado de aliados. Trazia consigo um documento assinado por uma conselheira que se declarava presidente em exercício e afirmava ser ele o líder legítimo do clube. O presidente em exercício Osmar Stabile não reconheceu o ato e chamou a polícia. Melo, em sua defesa perante a Comissão de Ética, alegou ter sido convencido por apoiadores de que tinha o direito de retornar ao cargo.
A Comissão de Ética recomendou a expulsão por unanimidade, apontando violação grave dos estatutos. Na sessão do conselho, o advogado de Melo pediu o arquivamento do processo ou, alternativamente, a substituição da pena por suspensão. Ambas as propostas foram rejeitadas. Uma tentativa de barrar a votação por meio de liminar judicial também não chegou a tempo. Quando o resultado foi anunciado, torcedores reunidos pacificamente do lado de fora comemoraram com fogos.
A expulsão de Melo veio poucos dias após a de Andrés Sanchez, afastado por uso pessoal do cartão corporativo do clube durante sua gestão entre 2018 e 2020. Dois ex-presidentes expulsos em semanas consecutivas apontam para um Conselho Deliberativo disposto a fazer valer suas regras sem concessões políticas — e levantam a questão de se esse rigor representa uma virada duradoura na cultura institucional do clube ou um momento singular de ajuste de contas.
Augusto Melo walked out of Corinthians on Monday night as a former member of the club he once led. The Deliberative Council voted to expel him from the institution's rolls in a near-unanimous decision that left little room for ambiguity: 147 councilors voted to remove him, five opposed, and four abstained. The vote took place at Parque São Jorge, the club's social headquarters, with 156 councilors present—132 serving three-year terms and 24holding lifetime seats.
Melo had commanded Corinthians from 2024 until August 2025, when the council removed him from the presidency. The expulsion itself stemmed from an incident on May 31 of the previous year, when Melo, already suspended from his post, arrived at the presidential office with allies and attempted to reclaim power. He carried a document signed by Maria Ângela de Souza Ocampos, a council member who claimed to be acting president, asserting that Melo remained the legitimate leader. The sitting president at the time, Osmar Stabile, refused to recognize the document and called police.
The Ethics Commission had unanimously recommended expulsion, citing a grave breach of club statutes. Leonardo Pantaleão, who had assumed interim leadership of the council after Romeu Tuma Júnior's suspension, signed the recommendation. When the council convened Monday evening, Melo's legal representative, Ricardo Jorge, was given space to argue against the proceedings. He requested that the council either dismiss the charges or consider suspension as an alternative to expulsion. Both motions failed. The defense then made a second argument against the expulsion itself, but the council proceeded to the vote.
Some councilors left the theater during the ethics commission's reading of its final report, though the session continued. When the results were announced, organized fan groups who had gathered peacefully outside Parque São Jorge celebrated with fireworks. The expulsion makes Melo the second former president to be removed from the club's membership rolls. Just days earlier, Andrés Sanchez had been expelled for misusing the club's corporate credit card for personal expenses during his tenure from 2018 to 2020.
Melo had attempted to block the vote through a court injunction, but the legal challenge did not reach a judge in time. His allies had argued their case using specific articles of the club's bylaws, but those provisions applied only to social club members, not elected councilors. During his hearing before the ethics panel, Melo claimed he had been persuaded by supporters to enter the presidential office, told he was the rightful president. Ocampos, the council member at the center of the May 31 incident, also testified, as did other councilors involved. The ethics body examined each person's conduct individually before issuing its recommendation.
The expulsion signals a hardening of institutional discipline at one of Brazil's largest football clubs. Two former presidents removed from membership in consecutive weeks suggests the council is willing to enforce its rules with severity, regardless of the political standing of those involved. What remains to be seen is whether this pattern continues or whether it marks a particular moment of reckoning within the club's governance.
Notable Quotes
Melo claimed he had been persuaded by supporters to enter the presidential office, told he was the rightful president— Augusto Melo, during his hearing before the ethics panel
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Melo think he could simply walk back into the presidency after being removed?
His allies convinced him that the council's decision to suspend him was invalid. They argued that the person who had authorized the suspension—Romeu Tuma Júnior—should himself have been removed, and that the succession rules meant someone else should be in charge. It was a legal argument, or at least they framed it that way. But the council didn't buy it.
And the document he brought—who was Maria Ângela de Souza Ocampos?
A council member, a first vice secretary. She signed a document declaring herself interim president and saying Melo should be restored. But Osmar Stabile, who was actually running things at that moment, wouldn't accept it. He called the police instead.
So this wasn't a quiet dispute. It was confrontational.
Exactly. Melo showed up at the presidential office with people backing him. He wasn't asking permission. He was trying to take back what he believed was his. That's why the ethics commission called it a grave breach of the bylaws.
Did anyone actually defend him during the vote?
His lawyer made arguments twice—once to try to stop the proceedings entirely, once to argue against expulsion specifically. But the council had already decided. The ethics commission had recommended it unanimously. The vote was 147 to 5. There wasn't much suspense.
What does it mean that two presidents were expelled in one week?
It suggests the council is serious about enforcing rules now. Sanchez was expelled for misusing a corporate card. Melo for invading the presidential office. Different crimes, same message: membership has consequences.
Could Melo have stopped this with his court case?
He tried. He filed for an injunction to suspend the vote. But the judge didn't rule in time. By the time the council met, the legal challenge was still pending. It didn't matter.