It's war! Vasco seek payback on Flamengo, derby to São Januário or Manaus

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Papo na Colina

·18 September 2026

It's war! Vasco seek payback on Flamengo, derby to São Januário or Manaus

Vasco is preparing a tough response against Flamengo if their rival continues blocking the team from using the Maracanã. Vasco’s board believes that if it cannot host the decisive matches against Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil and Boca Juniors in the Copa Sudamericana at the country’s biggest stadium, it will break the agreement for a 50-50 split of supporters in the Brazilian Championship. The plan under consideration is to move the Clássico dos Milhões scheduled for October 28 to São Januário or even Manaus, applying a 90% allocation for Vasco fans and only 10% for Flamengo supporters.

This move would mark the end of the recent arrangement between the rivals, which had been ensuring clásicos split evenly between both sets of fans at the city’s main venue. By playing the match at Colina or in the North of the country with near-total backing from its supporters, the Giant would gain a huge advantage both on the pitch and in the stands, leaving the visitors completely isolated with only a minimal ticket allocation in a major Série A round.

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?End of the agreement and supporter split

Vasco’s frustration has grown considerably because the agreement put together in 2025 to allow matches at the Maracanã was never signed by the consortium run by Flamengo and Fluminense. The boards agreed on the terms verbally at the time, but the concessionaire never signed the official document, making the deal lose its practical value. Even so, Vasco officials insist they have proof that the arena managers promised to validate the document, which has caused even more outrage at São Januário.

Given this cold war scenario off the pitch, Colina’s lawyers are already preparing a strong legal action to try to overturn the stadium’s bidding process. The legal strategy will argue that the concessionaire cannot block matches involving a club with such a large fan base under the pretext of protecting the grass, violating the basic principle of public interest set out in the state government’s concession rules.

?Legal action and Vasco’s retaliation

For Vasco, Flamengo’s insistence on denying access to the Maracanã at decisive moments of the season has gone beyond all acceptable limits. Since São Januário can only hold around 20,000 people and CONMEBOL requires a 30,000-seat venue for the continental semifinal, Vasco’s board considers it absurd to see its rivals playing freely in the public arena while the club is pushed to other venues.

If the arena’s managers do not change their stance in the coming days, retaliation on the pitch and in the courts will be put into practice immediately. The Rio club is willing to stand up to its rivals to the very end to guarantee supporters’ rights, whether by moving its home match elsewhere or by packing its historic stadium with maximum pressure in the final stretch of the season.