The Brazilian club Santos announced the resignation of Cleiton Lima, coach of the women’s soccer team, against the backdrop of protests against his reinstatement despite his accusation in an ethics case last year.
Lima was subjected to investigation in September 2023, after the newspaper “Globo” published letters from female players in which they confirmed that the coach had physically and verbally assaulted them, in addition to his talk about immoral matters inside the locker rooms.
The investigations acquitted Cleton Lima of the charge of physical assault, which gave Santos club officials justification to return him to his position last week, a decision that was met with great objections, which reached the point where players from other teams protested and gagged their mouths during the playing of the national anthem before the start of the matches.
The Santos club management issued a statement in which it confirmed that Clayton Lima submitted his resignation in order to preserve his reputation, and out of concern for his family and the interest of the club, after the criticism caused by the decision to return him to coaching the team.
The statement revealed that Lima had received death threats during the past few days, which coincided with the campaign of negative criticism, so he decided to respond to the pressure and leave the club.