December 7, 2023
Public Response to the Comments of the President of Palmeiras:
I understand that Ms. Pereira would be upset about our filing with the judiciary. Personal attacks, however, are not helpful to anyone, so I would not repeat such a practice in response. She has always been kind to me and I regret that the serious circumstances of arbitration error, and likely match manipulation, would position Botafogo as adverse to her interests. I remain committed to working with Palmeiras, and all clubs of Brazil, in support of a new league that will set appropriate standards of fair play for our national competition.
I have never suggested that she personally is responsible for the curious actions and outside forces that support her team’s success. Ironically, as she suggests that our inquiry must mean that I am ‘imbalanced’, I would remind her that it is a balanced and level playing field that we hope to achieve…for the benefit of all clubs, and for the benefit of Brazil.
On the topic of ‘balance’, it must be observed that her team lives in a world where ’11 v 10’ represents ‘balance’. Her team Palmeiras benefited from an ’11 v 10’ advantage 11 times during the 2023 season, a year during which teams in Serie A receive such a benefit 3 times, on average. Botafogo, which this year faced aggressive competition (enduring several well-documented violent actions) at no time enjoyed the benefit of ’11 v 10’. This statistic, of course, makes no mention of at least three obvious red cards that should have been issued to Palmeiras, as were well documented in the independant reports files with our STJD action. It is well-established that other clubs feel the same way, as Palmeiras has long been considered (before my arrival) to benefit from the biased compassion of referee protection.
Again, the issues of bias, error and manipulation have long been a problem in football. In the 2023 Brasileirao, we have provided evidence that shows the problem had a material effect on the outcome of the championship table. The only difference this year is that SAF Botafogo is the first to submit, to the governing judiciary, advanced analytics and independent confirmation of problems that we believe can be fixed in the future…for the benefit of us all.
Ms. Pereira…Congratulations on your 2023 Brasilierao.