John Textor 'still has a long journey' in Brazilian court case – Crystal Palace shareholder not clear despite victory
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Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor 'still has a long journey' ahead of him in Brazil despite his acquittal on Thursday.
That's according to GE Globo, who cover the Crystal Palace shareholder today and the further battles he faces despite his latest success in Brazilian court.
Textor was acquitted of withholding evidence by the Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva on Thursday, but his court case will not stop there.
He still faces a 'major process' that includes the Attorney General of Sports Justice, Palmeiras, São Paulo, the Professional Athletes Union of São Paulo and the National Association of Football Referees.
That's because of the various accusations of match fixing that Textor has made over the last few months, starting with his rant last year after Botafogo's controversial loss to Palmeiras.
He's since followed that up in April by claiming that "Palmeiras have been benefitting for two years" and pointed out that five São Paulo players manipulated a defeat suffered by Verdão in 2022.
The American businessman has been 'denounced' by the authorities since and face sanctions under Articles 221, 243-A and 243-F. The STJD released a report, via Mauro Marcelo de Lima e Silva, in July calling for a six-year suspension and a fine of R$6m.
A trial has been delayed as the court sent more than 30 questions to Textor and the company Good Game! who the American has hired to create refereeing reports on different Brazilian matches.
Those are in the process of being translated from English to Portuguese and assessments can only be made after that fact. Thus, the Crystal Palace shareholder faces a long wait and a lengthy legal battle to clear himself.
"There is no connection (between the case won this Thursday and the one that will still be judged) from the infraction point of view, but there are all other connections," Michel Assef Filho, John Textor’s lawyer, told GE.
"The background is identical. The background is the need for Sports Justice to have the possibility of carrying out an investigation. John, since December last year, wanted to open a sports investigation and it was archived. From that moment on, the question arises as to whether there is any need for a deeper investigation.
"In the end, should we punish those who are looking for solutions that all of football wants? John’s position is the same as the defense. Obviously, there is concern because from the beginning John wanted the Justice’s collaboration with him so that the investigations could be carried out.
"His being denounced precisely for this reason is something that we believe is inappropriate. We will try to show this to the courts."
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