(ATR) Football legend Pele avoids testimony for the second time in the trial over corruption in the Rio 2016 Olympic bid.
Health is cited as the reason he was not able to speak as scheduled in the May 29 session of court in Rio de Janeiro. It’s the second time that Pele, 77, has ducked testimony because of health concerns.
Nonetheless, as one of the most famous figures in football worldwide, Pele is also making plans to travel to Moscow in two weeks for the open of the 2018 World Cup.
Pele is supposed to appear as a witness for the defense ofCarlos Arthur Nuzman, former president of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Nuzman is one of several individuals charged in the scheme that prosecutors say delivered about $2 million for IOC member votes in 2009 when Rio won the Games.
"He probably had a new relapse of bad health," Nuzman's lawyer, Joao Francisco Neto, tells Around the Rings.
Pele was an emblematic and busy figure for the candidacy of Rio. The ex-player made several trips through Africa during the race before the IOC election. Prosecutors say that IOC members in Africa were the target of the Rio vote buying scheme.
Pele, the only three-time world champion, lives in Sao Paulo and would have to travel to the nearby city of Santos where he would deliver his testimony by a video link to the Rio courtroom.
Judge Marcelo Bretas has set a new date for Pele to appear, June 13. That however would appear to conflict with the footballer’s plans to go to Russia for the open of the World Cup June 14.
Last week Pele received medical clearance to travel to Russia, despite it difficult recovery from hip replacement surgery in 2012. He is still receiving treatment has been to the operating room twice since the initial operation.
ATR is told that Nuzman's defense has requested testimony from
20IOC members, including Prince Albert of Monaco and honorary IOC member King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands.
But no member of the IOC has spoken so far in the court. An attorney for the IOC has yet to present to the court a schedule for their possible testimony. The members would testify via Skype.
At the request of the defense, Nuzman has been excused from attending sessions of the trial. The former IOC member has denied the accusations.
"Until now, all witnesses have been very positive for the defense," said Neto.
The attorney confirmed that by June 5 testimony by videoconference is planned from former President Lula, now imprisoned for corruption.
Lula, Nuzman and Pele, led the Brazilian delegation that celebrated the triumph of Rio de Janeiro in the IOC session October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen.
Reported by Miguel Hernandez.