Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A football club Athletico Paranaense has reiterated its determination to continue playing its matches behind closed doors after securing a late court ruling preventing six fans from attending yesterday’s (Thursday’s) Copa Sudamericana semi-final clash against Peñarol.
Athletico advanced to the Sudamericana final, where it will meet fellow Serie A team Red Bull Bragantino on November 20, after defeating Uruguayan outfit Peñarol 2-0 yesterday to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory.
However, ahead of the game six fans had secured a ruling to attend the match at the Arena da Baixada, leading Athletico to file an interlocutory appeal in the 6th Civil Chamber of the State.
Judge Renato Lopes de Paiva ruled in the club’s favour, stating: “The right of members to follow the match at the stadium itself cannot, in theory, override the rules of collective organisation and security imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when they must be implemented in a few hours.”
Earlier this week, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that fans are set to return to Serie A stadia for the first time in over a year. Brazilian football fans will return to the stadium for this weekend’s 23rd round of fixtures. The move was backed by 18 of the 20 Serie A clubs, with only Athletico voting against the proposal.
Athletico is due to discuss the issue again on Monday, but president Mario Celso Petraglia has already made it clear that fans will only return to the Arena da Baixada when the COVID-19 situation in Curitiba and the state of Parana is under control.
Petraglia told Globo Esporte: “I asked the chairman of the board to call a meeting to hear all the board members and not have a monocratic decision. And let everyone know how much it will cost to open the stadium during the pandemic. Because, with 5,000, we won’t even cover the number of members that have the right to go to the stadium without paying a ticket.”
Petraglia claims that the Arena da Baixada, which has a capacity of around 42,370, would cost more than R$200,000 (£27,400/€32,000/$37,000) to open to fans per game. He added: “We will not have a box office, we will not have food and beverages, and we will have all costs.
“So that it doesn’t seem like a monocratic decision of mine, we will listen to the council. And we will also hear how they can help, the council will help pay this bill.”
Image: Cleber Rech/CC BY 2.0/Edited for size
