Brazil’s friendly with England has been suspended due to safety concerns at the newly refurbished Maracanã stadium.
A court decision has ruled that Sunday’s game must be suspended after fears grew that the iconic stadia will not be able to handle the magnitude of the game.
“At this moment we have no news that the restrictions were amended to a level of safety that would be expected at this stage,” Judge Adriana Costa dos Santos said in a statement.
“Therefore, due to the laziness of the people responsible, in this case, the defendants, we cannot allow the stadium to be re-inaugurated without proof that it is safe and hygienic.”
The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) and the Local Organising Committee may be fined for each event that takes place without guarantees the engineering, fire and hygiene is up to grade.
However, the CBF claim they have the documents proving the Maracanã is safe to host games, but they have not been delivered on time.
This is not the first problem with Brazil’s venues for the upcoming Confederations Cup, which kicks off in just 16 days.
The roof at the Arena Fonte Nova collapsed due to heavy rain on Monday night and Botafogo’s Engenhão stadium had to be shut down recently after engineers found structural problems with the roof.
