Edílson Pereira de Carvalho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edílson Pereira de Carvalho (born August 4, 1962 in Brazil) is a former international football referee. He is well known as a religious man. Before each match, he always follow the same ritual: he rises his two football cards (yellow and red), which are personalized with the inscription Deus é Fiel, which means God is Faithful, and prays in the center of the pitch. He is married and has a daughter, and currently lives in Jacareí, São Paulo.

1 Youth
2 Early Refereeing Career
3 Scandals
4 External links

[edit] Youth

When he was younger, he tried to became a football player, and made a test at São José, but never signed a contract. His preferred position was left back.

[edit] Early Refereeing Career

In 1991, he became a referee. Three years later, he refereed his first official match, a Campeonato Paulista game.

He became an international referee in 2000, and worked in important competitions such as Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Campeonato Paulista, Copa Libertadores de América and Copa Sudamericana, but never refereed a Football World Cup match.

Among the most famous matches he worked, are both legs of the 2000 Copa Libertadores semifinal tie between Corinthians and Palmeiras.

[edit] Scandals

Edílson Pereira de Carvalho, before the scandal, had a good reputation as a referee.

In 2003, he suffered accusations of submiting to Paulista Football Federation (FPF) a fake high school graduation degree, which is a requirement for anyone who wants to be a referee in Brazil. The accusation was never investigated by FPF.

In 2005, he was accused of insulting the Argentinian players Sebá and Carlos Tévez, during a match between São Paulo and Corinthians.

He was one of the main figures in the 2005 Brazilian football match-fixing scandal. He was paid between R$10,000 and R$15,000 per fixed match. Eleven Brazilian National Championship matches refereed by him were annulled, and needed to be replayed. Edílson Pereira de Carvalho was suspended on September 24, 2005, and, later was banned for life. He also faced charges of fraud, conspiracy and crimes against the economy. He affirmed that he committed those crimes only because he has a R$30,000 debt.