Marco Polo del Nero, the embattled president of the Brazilian soccer federation, started his 150-day leave of absence on Monday to prepare his defence against wide-ranging corruption charges.
A spokesman for the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro said Monday that Del Nero could extend the 150-day leave at least once.
The pressure mounted Sunday for Del Nero to resign as hundreds of players from across the country folded their arms across their chests in protest, standing motionless for 15 seconds before the final round of games to end the season.
"Del Nero must go — now," the player group "Common Sense FC" said on its Twitter account. "We want clean elections."
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.