Court denies Vasco bid to move Boca Juniors semi-final to Maracanã | OneFootball

According to Globo.com, a Rio de Janeiro court has rejected Vasco’s urgent injunction to compel Fla-Flu Serviços S.A. to release the Maracanã for the Copa Sul-Americana semi-final second leg against Boca Juniors on 20 October.

The ruling, issued on Monday morning by judge Adriana Marques dos Santos Laia Franco of the second Civil Court of the Capital District, found the conditions for an interim order were not met, citing conflicting technical reports about the state and recovery of the pitch.

Vasco argues staging the game would not cause irreversible damage, while the stadium concessionaire submitted reports warning of risk to the turf’s recovery and clashes with the Maracanã calendar. An appeal to the Court of Justice remains available.

The judge stressed the refusal is not a definitive rejection of Vasco’s case, adding that the technical dispute over the surface cannot be settled at this preliminary stage.

She also noted a submission from the Polícia Militar, filed by the concessionaire, which deemed Estádio Nilton Santos a viable option. Vasco’s evidence compared conditions only between the Maracanã and São Januário, without assessing other alternatives.

Vasco must confirm the venue at least 10 days before the match, so by 10 October. If played outside the city of Rio de Janeiro, Conmebol requires 15 days’ notice, which would fall on Monday.

In parallel, the club is working to host the tie at São Januário, its priority, although the ground does not meet Conmebol’s 30,000 minimum for continental semi-finals.

On Friday, the Corpo de Bombeiros approved an increase to 24,000 capacity, viewed internally as significant but not decisive. City bodies have already given positive opinions, and the club still needs approval from the Polícia Militar, which has privately signalled a preference for the Maracanã. Talks continue.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”