Sales of supermarkets in Brazil have seen a rise in the wake of the ban on online betting, while revenues for football clubs have declined, representatives of the supermarket and football sectors said during a hearing before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva imposed a ban on sports betting and online casinos on October 5, during the election campaign that led to his re-election. The government justified this decision by pointing to the worsening excessive indebtedness among a sector of the population.
The president of the Brazilian Supermarket Association, João Galassi, explained that an “actual growth of 6.5 percent in food consumption” was observed during the first week following the implementation of the ban.
Galassi stressed that the money that was previously spent on betting “began to be directed toward purchasing food, paying off debts, and meeting the needs of families.”
But the betting sector, which is supported by many football clubs sponsored by companies in this sector, has filed several appeals against this measure, and the Supreme Court is currently considering them.
Flavio de Araujo Williman, vice president of Flamengo, the most popular club in Brazil, stated that the ban caused “a decrease in revenues of about 430 million Brazilian reals annually” (equivalent to 70 million euros).
Other major clubs in the country, such as: Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Fluminense, Gremio and Sao Paulo, also reported a decline in their revenues.
Some club representatives pointed out that other countries that banned betting advertisements, such as Belgium, Italy and Spain, gave clubs a period of several months to correct their situation, while the sector in Brazil was given only 10 days to adapt to the decision.
The ban, which was imposed by decree, is also subject to discussion in Parliament, which must vote to give it the force of law before the end of next January.
However, the conservative opposition strengthened its majority there during the elections that took place on October 25.
Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, denounced the “speculation” and “lies” that have spread recently about the “Red Devils,” denying the existence of any tension with coach Michael Carrick, and affirming his complete confidence in him.
The English club put an end to a series of 9 consecutive matches without achieving any victory in various competitions, with an exciting victory over its Italian guest, Roma (3-2), in the fourth round of the Unified Group League of the Champions League competition on Tuesday.
In statements to the Amazon Prime channel, Fernandez seemed upset when asked if this result was enough to “save” his coach. The 32-year-old attacking midfielder said: “The club needed this win, as well as the players. We needed him as a group, players and technical staff alike. “We worked very hard to get out of this situation together.”
Fernandez had previously publicly criticized the coach's tactics following the previous European match, which ended in a loss to Italian Como (1-4), after which he found himself on the bench in the next league match.
Fernandes said with a serious face: “There has been a lot of speculation in the media, and many lies have been spread about events that occurred within the club, especially regarding my relationship with the coach. They even claimed that we had held a session to settle matters, which did not happen at all.”
He added: “The coach made the decision to leave me on the bench, because my performance was not good, and this is completely normal. Some considered this to be punishment for my statements, and if that was indeed the case, it was completely justified.” He continued: “Carrick is the one who makes the decisions, and I have to accept them.”
He concluded by saying: “In any case, this does not change anything in my confidence in the coach, his technical staff, and every player in this club. “It also does not change my goal at all: to win every match.”
The Austrian team LASK Linz achieved a major victory over its guest Slovan Bratislava, 4-0, in the fourth round of the European Champions League.
Danish Casper Jorgensen scored two goals for the hosts in the 19th and 37th minutes, then Robert Ljubicic added the third goal in the 44th minute, and American Samuel Adeniran completed the quadruple in the 48th minute.
With this victory, LASK Linz rose to fifteenth place, with 6 points, while struggling Bratislava is at the bottom of the standings without any points.
LASK will play in the next round on November 24, with Bodo Glimt of Norway at the latter's stadium, while Slovan Bratislava will face Real Betis of Spain on the same day.
In Norway, the French team Lille won its first point in the Champions League stage with a goalless draw with its host Bodo Glimt of Norway.
The Norwegian team did not take advantage of playing at home and among its fans, while the French team snatched a valuable point away from home thanks to the brilliance of its goalkeeper, Berk Ozer, who blocked three dangerous attempts.
Lille also threatened his opponent's goal with three attempts, the most dangerous of which was from Dylan Bakwa.
With this result, Bodo Glimt raises his score to 4 points in 23rd place out of 36 teams, while Lille is in 34th place with one point, after overcoming a series of three consecutive defeats against Real Betis of Spain, Arsenal of England and Galatasaray of Turkey.
In the fifth round, which will be held on November 24 and 25, Lille will face a difficult test at home against Bayern Munich, while Bodo Glimt will play again at home against Austria's LASK, which is participating in the Champions League for the first time in its history.
