Soccer-Judge annuls 2018 election of Brazil soccer head Caboclo

(Reuters) - A Brazilian judge on Monday annulled the 2018 election of Rogerio Caboclo as president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), and named two regional soccer chiefs to take temporary charge of the organisation.

The judge disagreed with the way the CBF changed voting rules in 2017 before the election of Caboclo the following year, the organisation said in a statement.

The judge has asked the presidents of Rio club Flamengo and the Paulista Football Federation, Rodolfo Landim and Reinaldo Carneiro Bastos, respectively, to take temporary charge, although they have not agreed to assume control.

The two men said they will analyse the request and make an announcement at a later date.

However, the CBF said it was appealing the decision and complained there was no new information to prompt a judge to rule on a four-year old case.

Existing laws prohibit club presidents from overseeing the governing body, it added.

"Over the course of four years, the justice system saw no urgency to examine requests for annulment," it said.

The surprise decision comes less than two months after the CBF suspended Caboclo pending an investigation into reported claims of sexual harassment.

Caboclo is the fourth CBF president in a row to face legal problems. His three predecessors were all involved in corruption scandals and banned from footballing activities by the game’s governing body FIFA.

(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Himani Sarkar)