Leila Pereira will not travel with Palmeiras for the match against Botafogo

Palm trees It is Botafogo is becoming a classic full of rivalry. For the right reasons and the wrong ones too. Palmeiras’ press office confirmed on Monday that Leila Pereira will not travel to Rio de Janeiro for the game against Botafogo, next Wednesday, the 17th, because he understands that “after the speeches and accusations of John Textorowner of SAF Botafogo, there is no reason for the presence of the Verdão representative in Nilton Santos“.

After the Rio de Janeiro club lost the title 2023 Brazilian Championship for the green and white team, with an impressive comeback by Verdão playing in Rio de Janeiro, the relationship between the two boards began to deteriorate. And it went down the drain after the controversial statements made by the owner of Botafogo’s SAF. Textor went to the press and stated that he had evidence – collected by an Artificial Intelligence tool – that some games in last year’s Championship were manipulated in favor of Palmeiras. He specifically mentioned the green and white team’s 5-0 win over São Pauloclaiming that at least 5 players from the tricolor displayed abnormal behavior during the match, and Palmeiras’ 4-0 victory over Fortaleza. The clubs mentioned repudiated the statement.

The accusations reached Brasilia. Textor repeated them again in the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry that investigates the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting. Palmeiras is suing Textor for the accusations involving the club. Leila Pereira blasted the owner of Botafogo’s SAF in the press, calling him a “disgrace to Brazilian football”, “irresponsible”, “braggart” and even an “idiot”. In response, Textor filed a civil and criminal lawsuit against the president of Palmeiras for slander and defamation.

Textor is also a target of the sports justice system. At the conclusion of the investigation into allegations of match-fixing in Brazilian football, the auditor of the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), Mauro Marcelo de Lima e Silva, classified the evidence presented by the American as “useless”. And he suggested that he be suspended from Brazilian football for six years. Leila reacted to the report: “He is an irresponsible person who needs to be punished in an exemplary manner for the crimes he has committed against people, clubs and entities.” Textor raised his tone again. In an interview with Globo Esporte, he states that “hired attorney Paul Tuchmann to sue Leila in the US. She crossed the line and I’m going after her.”

In the midst of all this, the teams face each other again, and the leadership of the Brazilian Championship. Botafogo and Palmeiras are tied in the standings with 33 points, and have identical campaigns (10 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, goal difference of +13). Fogão has the advantage and leads the competition because it has scored more goals than its rival (27 to 25). In addition, they will also meet in the knockout stages of the Libertadores, in August. Due to everything involved in the game, on and off the field, Leila Pereira chose not to accompany the team to Rio de Janeiro.