Court orders Vasco and Boca Juniors to play at Maracanã

In yet another decision, the Rio Court reestablished this Tuesday (13) the determination that the match between Vasco da Gama and Boca Juniors, scheduled for the 20th of this month and valid for the semi-final of the Copa Sudamericana, be held at the Maracanã Stadium.

The decision was made by judge Joaquim Domingos de Almeida Neto, from the Special Body of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ), who granted early appeal protection, ordering Fla-Flu Serviços S.A. to make the Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium, Maracanã, available for the match between Vasco da Gama and Boca Juniors, on October 20th, at 9:30 p.m.

For the judge, the effective sale of tickets, in itself, creates a fait accompli, due to the technical unfeasibility of accommodating fans in another stadium. The judge reconsidered the previous decision and rejected the requested injunction, reinstating the decision given in the appeal.

"From the petitioner's perspective, the aim is to maintain the excellence of the facilities entrusted to him, which can at any time be reduced to losses and damages. It is also noted that, uncontroversially, the same stadium was ceded for the recent holding of a much more aggressive event for its maintenance", wrote judge Joaquim de Almeida Neto.

The judge also explained that "the sale of tickets, based on provisional protection, reinforces the legitimacy of the judicial decision to guarantee the event in the arena indicated by the security bodies, marking a new and uncountable and accomplished fact. The concessionaire's denial, under secondary arguments, contradicts the technical understanding of the security bodies and the principle of reasonableness, and could cause serious damage to public order", he assessed.

The judge also determined that the match between Flamengo and Botafogo for the National Basketball League, Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB), initially scheduled for October 20th, at Maracanãzinho, be transferred to another location or rescheduled to a time that does not coincide with the flow of fans for the match organized by Conmebol.

The first match between Vasco da Gama and Boca Juniors will be this Tuesday, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at Bombonera, in Buenos Aires, valid for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals.