The son of football great Pele said a court's decision to annul his trial on drug-related charges came as a bittersweet announcement.
In an interview with the Diario de S. Paulo newspaper on Thursday, Edson Cholbi do Nascimento said he was hoping to be acquitted from the charges instead of having the trial annulled.
"I'm happy, of course," Nascimento said. "It was a victory, but not exactly the one I wanted, which would be to be acquitted."
A Brazilian court annulled the trial against Nascimento and 10 other defendants because they were not allowed to present their defense in writing as allowed by law, local media said on Wednesday. The defendants were accused of belonging to a drug gang that was dismantled by police in 2005.
"Definitely it was positive," Nascimento said. "But I won't be satisfied until my innocence is clearly proven."
Nascimento, who played football professionally in Brazil as a goalkeeper, spent several months in a maximum security prison before being released to await trial.
"Justice is being done, but there is still a lot to be done to fix what they did to me," he said.
Prosecutors said they were considering a new trial.
Nascimento, who said he had an emotional talk with Pele after the decision was announced, always maintained he was not a drug trafficker, but admitted he was a user and took part in a drug rehabilitation program.
As a player, he was a second-string goalkeeper for eight years with Santos, his father's former club. He retired from professional football in 1999, and was an assistant goalkeeper trainer at Santos.
Nascimento was convicted of vehicular homicide in 1999 after taking part in a 1992 car race on a city street that killed a motorcyclist. He was sentenced to six years in a work-release program, but was acquitted on appeal.
