Paulista Federation safeguards refereeing with Federal self-exclusion
In a decisive move to protect the integrity of its competitions, the Paulista Football Federation (FPF) has mandated that all refereeing professionals in the state must compulsorily register on the Centralized Self-Exclusion Platform of the Ministry of Finance. This measure, which applies to main referees, assistant referees, and VAR operators, requires the upload of each professional's CPF to the federal system that has been operational since December 2025. The objective is clear: to nullify any possibility that those who officiate on the field can open accounts or place bets on authorized platforms, thereby eliminating potential conflicts of interest at the root.
The FPF's decision not only aligns with the guidelines of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) but is also formally integrated into the Paulista entity's new General Refereeing Regulations. By using the self-exclusion tool as a technical barrier, the federation reinforces transparency in a scenario where match-fixing is punished with definitive expulsion from the sport. Although for club officials and employees the measure has initially been proposed as a voluntary recommendation, its mandatory nature for referees sets a zero-tolerance standard for the participation of direct sports actors in the fixed-odds market.
The effectiveness of this centralized system is already reflected in the official figures from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). In just its first 40 days of operation, more than 217,000 Brazilian citizens have requested inclusion in the registry, mainly for mental health reasons and to prevent data misuse.
By adding the refereeing body to this database, São Paulo football ensures that the state's control technology works in favor of the purity of the competition, ensuring that betting entertainment remains strictly separate from those responsible for making decisions on the field.
Tags: Brazil Paulista Football Federation, self-exclusion judges, self-exclusion football referees