Ednaldo Rodrigues has been accused of betrayal after being named on the FIFA Council ©Getty Images

Fernando Sarney has accused compatriot and Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) President Ednaldo Rodrigues of betraying him by ousting him as South American representative on the FIFA Council.

At the global governing body's Congress in Rwandan capital Kigali, Rodrigues ascended to the position which pushed Sarney, a CBF vice-president, out of the role he has served in since 2015.

Rodrigues reportedly sent a letter to the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) demanding Sarney's removal from the Councils of both FIFA and the continental body.

Sarney assumed the role when former CBF President Marco Polo del Nero stopped travelling outside of Brazil because of fears he could be arrested by American authorities.

Del Nero was one of those indicted in the 2015 FIFA scandal which resulted in him being handed a lifetime ban from FIFA three years later for taking bribes.

"My removal from the FIFA Council, in my opinion, was a betrayal, an act of ingratitude and an attempt is being made to publicise facts that are not true," Sarney said, as reported by UOL.

"I have no connection with Marco Polo and [José Maria] Marin and they never influenced my nomination.

"It's a lie that Infantino asked for my removal.

Fernando Sarney said his removal from the FIFA Council is an
Fernando Sarney said his removal from the FIFA Council is an "attempt...to publicise facts that are not true" ©Getty Images

"Ednaldo forgot the commitments he made, not only with me but with other people."

Rodrigues denies that he actively pushed for Sarney's exit but said that it was a matter of following the CONMEBOL statutes.

Sarney is due to retain his role as one of the eight vice-presidents of the CBF although he is not currently at the helm of a state federation.

"As Interim President, I had no pretence to take the role, but CONMEBOL considered it an atypical situation, including the President and all the FA Presidents," said Rodrigues.

"The role doesn't belong to the Presidency, but to the institution and in an exceptional period Fernando took the role because the President was not in a position to do so over legal questions, mainly over FIFAGate."

As of today, Rodrigues will be an acting member of the FIFA Council.

To become a full member, he must be ratified at the next CONMEBOL Congress.

The organisation will then have to inform FIFA that Rodrigues is a new representative on its Council.

He first came to power at the CBF on an interim basis in August 2021 and then as President-elect in March 2022, and will serve until 2026.