The mayor of Rio de Janeiro stated on Friday that he wouldn’t hesitate to cancel Copa America matches scheduled in his metropolis if the Covid-19 pandemic worsened.
The competitors was switched to Brazil from Argentina on Tuesday. It begins on June 13.
“I don’t see any benefit in internet hosting Copa America matches,” said Mayor Eduardo Paes during his weekly press briefing on the health situation.
“We didn’t ask for the Copa America and if you want my opinion, I don’t think it’s the right time to organise such a tournament.”
The mayor stated that whereas membership matches, such because the Brazilian league and the Copa Libertadores, have been performed behind closed doorways in Rio, that was beneath a decree in pressure till 14 June, the day after the opening match of the Copa America in Brasilia.
“But if the state of affairs worsens, we could have one other decree and that may put an finish” to football competitions in the city, he said, adding that the organisers had not “at any time contacted the municipal health authorities”.
Rio will host the primary of eight Copa America matches, between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Chile on the Nilton Santos stadium, website of the athletics occasions on the 2016 Olympics, on 14 June.
Seven matches are scheduled to happen on the stadium, together with a semi-final. The ultimate is slated for the enduring Maracana Stadium in town.
The Copa, delayed by 12 months due to the pandemic, was alleged to be co-hosted by Colombia and Argentina.
But the South American confederation (CONMEBOL) nixed the previous on May 20 due to violent anti-government protests, and the latter on Sunday due to a surge of Covid-19.
On Monday, the shock announcement that Brazil would host the event as a substitute of Argentina and Colombia sparked an avalanche of criticism in Brazil, the place almost 470,000 folks have died from Covid-19.
But CONMEBOL was eager to thank the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, for “opening the doorways of his nation”.
The head of state, whose handling of the pandemic has been heavily criticized by most experts, has made numerous statements this week in favor of the Copa America in Brazil.
He said it was logical to host such a tournament if the country was already hosting international club competitions such as the Copa Libertadores.
Several stars from other South American countries, such as Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, have already spoken out against holding the Copa America in the pandemic.
Rumours of a boycott have also begun to emerge from the Brazilian team.
Several media outlets are reporting that coach Tite may resign due to a disagreement with his federation over the organisation of the tournament in his country.
Tite said on Thursday that he had a “very clear” opinion on the matter and would specific it after the second of the 2 World Cup 2022 qualifiers, this Friday night time towards Ecuador and Tuesday towards Paraguay.
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