CBF rules out postponing Palmeiras-Flamengo amid Covid-19 outbreak | OneFootball

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) ruled out postponing the match between Palmeiras and Flamengo, which is scheduled for Sunday in São Paulo.

Flamengo are currently suffering from a massive Covid-19 outbreak which has affected at least 27 members of the squad, including manager Domènec Torrent and at least 16 players.

“We understand the reasons and grounds for the claim to postpone the match (…), but unfortunately we inform that it will not be possible to cancel the match,” Manoel Flores, CBF Director of Competitions, said in a letter.

“The club has enough staff to carry out the game. We emphasise that other cases similar to this were also rejected.”

The CBF denied the request because it considered that the current Brazilian and Copa Libertadores champions have enough players after they were allowed to expand the number of registered players to 40, anticipating infections due to the pandemic.

So far Flamengo has registered 34 players and has the possibility of adding another six. At the moment, Flamengo have nine professional players available at their disposal and will have to rely on youth players this weekend.