By Mark Baber
September 19 – The threat of closure on safety grounds again looms for the Maracanã Stadium, scheduled to host next year’s World Cup final, as the 4th District Attorney’s Office requests a new engineering report.
Prosecutor Crispin Glícia Pessanha Viana has written to the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) requesting a new engineering report be provided within 30 days as the existing documents do not meet the minimum standards required.
The report was reportedly received by the CBF on September 11 was then forwarded to the Rio branch of the Federation and has now been passed on to the administrators of the stadium – the Maracanã Complex Entertainment SA.
Despite the prospect of games not being permitted if a reply is not forthcoming, the competition director of the Rio de Janeiro Football Federation, Marcelo Vianna said: “If the report hasn’t been accepted, it does in fact mean the stadium cannot be used. But it’s a stadium that has met FIFA’s World Cup standards. There is no reason why this can’t be resolved.”
In June, public prosecutors temporarily suspended Brazil’s international friendly with England in the refurbished Maracanã on similar grounds, before a judge reversed the decision in time for the game to go ahead.
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