Edílson Pereira de Carvalho (born August 4, 1962 in Brazil[1] is a former international football referee. As a religious man, before each match, he always followed the same ritual: he raises 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 became notorious for involvement on match-fixing scandal.[2] He is married and has a daughter, and currently lives in Jacareí, São Paulo.[3]
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When he was younger, he tried to become a football player, and made a test at São José, but never signed a contract.[3]
In 1991, he became a referee.[4] Three years later, he refereed his first official match, a Campeonato Paulista game.[3]
He became an international referee in 2000,[1] after he was appointed in previous year by Armando Marques, who was the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation Refereeing Commission at the time, as a replacement to referee Dacildo Mourão.[5] He worked in important competitions such as Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Campeonato Paulista, and international competitions such as Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, but never refereed a Football World Cup match.[2]
Among the most famous matches he worked, are both legs of the 2000 Copa Libertadores semifinal tie between Corinthians and Palmeiras.[3]
In 2003, he suffered accusations of submitting 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.[6]
In 2005, he was accused of insulting the Argentine players Sebá and Carlos Tévez, during a match between São Paulo and Corinthians.[7]
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.[2] 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.[8] He also faced charges of fraud, conspiracy and crimes against the economy.[3] He affirmed that he committed those crimes only because he has a R$40,000 debt.[9]