José Maria Marin (born 6 May 1932)[1] is a Brazilian politician and former sports administrator who was the President of the Brazilian Football Confederation (Portuguese: Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, CBF) from March 2012 until April 2015. He had previously served as vice-governor and governor of São Paulo state and is a former football player.

José Maria Marin
José Maria Marin
President of the Brazilian Football Confederation
In office
12 March 2012 – 12 April 2015
Preceded byRicardo Teixeira
Succeeded byMarco Polo Del Nero
Governor of São Paulo
In office
14 May 1982 – 15 March 1983
Vice GovernorNone
Preceded byPaulo Maluf
Succeeded byFranco Montoro
Vice Governor of São Paulo
In office
15 March 1979 – 14 May 1982
GovernorPaulo Maluf
Preceded byFerreira Filho
Succeeded byOrestes Quércia
Member of the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo
In office
15 March 1971 – 15 March 1979
ConstituencyAt-large
Member of the Municipal Chamber of São Paulo
In office
1 January 1964 – 21 December 1970
ConstituencyAt-large
Personal details
Born (1932-05-06) 6 May 1932 (age 92)
São Paulo, Brazil
Political partyPRD (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations
  • PRP (1963–1965)
  • ARENA (1965–1980)
  • PDS (1980–1985)
  • PFL (1985–2000)
  • PSC (2000–2007)
  • PTB (2007–2023)
ProfessionLawyer

Marin was arrested as part of the 2015 FIFA corruption case and was subsequently jailed for four years.[2]

Early life and football career

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Marin was born in São Paulo.[1] His father was from Galicia, Spain, and helped to popularize boxing in Brazil.[3]

He was part of the São Paulo squad between 1950, and 1952[4] where as a striker he scored five goals in the 20 games he played.[1]

Political career

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José Maria Marin was city councilor in 1960, state deputy in 1970, and from 1979 to 1982 he was vice-governor of São Paulo.[1] He was governor of São Paulo from 14 May 1982 to 15 March 1983 as a replacement for Paulo Maluf.[5] Marin joined the Brazilian Labor Party in 2007.[1]

Brazilian Football Confederation

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José Maria Marin was president of the Federação Paulista de Futebol from 1982 to 1988.[1] He was vice-president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, representing the Southeastern Region, from 2008 to 2012.[1]

Due to health issues, Ricardo Teixeira withdrew from his position as president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, whereupon Marin was appointed as caretaker president of the confederation on 8 March 2012.[1] After Teixeira resigned on 12 March 2012, Marin was appointed as the new president of the Brazilian Football Confederation and of the 2014 FIFA World Cup committee.[6]

Controversies

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On 25 January 2012, when Marin was vice president of CBF, during the medal ceremony of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, won by Corinthians, at Estádio do Pacaembu, he surreptitiously put in his pocket one of the gold medals that he was supposed to hand over Corinthians players, as a result of which, goalkeeper Matheus Caldeira was left without a medal.[7] This act was broadcast live by Rede Bandeirantes.[8] The incident caused an uproar and was much talked about in social networks.[9] Two months later, when he became president of CBF, Marin called the episode "a real joke".[10]

On 2 April 2013, the son of murdered Brazilian journalist Vladimir Herzog petitioned for Marin's removal from the CBF and FIFA because of the speeches Marin delivered while a congressional representative in 1975 that praised Sérgio Fleury, who was head of the Department of Political and Social Order (Departamento de Ordem Politica e Social) during Brazil's military dictatorship, and for criticizing Herzog in speeches. Fleury has been accused of involvement in torture.[11] Herzog's 1975 death certificate was officially changed by court order from suicide to murder by torture in March 2013 after 37 years.[12]

On 27 May 2015, Marin was arrested for corruption charges in connection with the 2015 FIFA corruption case.[13] The indictment under which Marin was arrested names 14 people on charges including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. In addition to senior soccer officials, the indictment also named sports-marketing executives from the United States and South America who are accused of paying more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for media deals associated with major soccer tournaments. Other soccer officials charged are Eduardo Li, Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel and Nicolás Leoz.[14] Marin was subsequently banned by the FIFA Ethics Committee.[15]

In August 2018, Marin was sentenced to prison for four years. He was also fined $1.2 m and ordered to forfeit $3.34 m.[16] On 30 March 2020, it was decided that Marin would be released early with the judge citing his: "advanced age, significantly deteriorating health, elevated risk of dire health consequences due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, status as a non-violent offender, and service of 80% of his original sentence".[17]

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Chilean actor Alejandro Trejo portrayed Marin in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video original series El Presidente.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "José Maria Marin" (in Portuguese). Terceiro Tempo. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  2. ^ "US federal court sentences José Maria Marin to four years for corruption". the Guardian. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ Giancarlo Lepiani (15 March 2012). "E a FIFA vai conhcer o novo velho rosto do futebol brasileiro" (in Portuguese). Veja. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Ex-jogador e político, Marin foi acusado de embolsar medalha" (in Portuguese). Placar. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Novo presidente da CBF já foi governador de São Paulo" (in Portuguese). RedeTV!. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "CBF tem novo presidente" (in Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. 12 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Vice-presidente da CBF é flagrado embolsando medalha" (in Portuguese). UOL. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Vice-presidente da CBF é flagrado pela Band embolsando medalha da Copa São Paulo" (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  9. ^ "Dirigente da CBF embolsa medalha e rouba a cena na premiação da Copinha" (in Portuguese). Estadão. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Marin se irrita com polêmica da medalha: 'Uma verdadeira piada'" (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. March 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Son of journalist killed during Brazilian dictatorship asks for support to oust Marin from CBF". Folha de S.Paulo. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  12. ^ "Family receives new death certificate of journalist killed during Brazilian dictatorship". Folha de S.Paulo. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  13. ^ Gibson, Owen; Gayle, Damien (27 May 2015). "Fifa officials arrested on corruption charges as World Cup inquiry launched". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  14. ^ Clifford, Stephanie; Apuzzo, Matt (27 May 2015). "After Indicting 14 Soccer Officials, U.S. Vows to End Graft in FIFA". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "The FIFA Case: Questions, Answers and Updates". The New York Times. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Fifa corruption: Brazil's Jose Maria Marin jailed for four years". BBC Sport. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  17. ^ "Jailed CBF President Given Early Release by NY Judge". The New York Times. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ferreira Filho
Vice Governor of São Paulo
1979–1982
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of São Paulo
1982–1983
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Brazilian Football Confederation
2012–2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by FIFA World Cup Chief Organizer
2014–2015