Flamengo president outraged by Conmebol's decision to hold matches at altitude
Cahê Mota\ From GLOBOESPORTE.COM\
Marcio Braga relies on Blatter's promise against high-altitude matches. CONMEBOL's decision to maintain the legality of football matches at altitudes above 2.750 meters was a cold shower for the Brazilian clubs competing in the Copa Libertadores. But as if they lost the battle but not the war, Flamengo, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, São Paulo, and Santos are already preparing a counterattack.
"It was a completely absurd decision. They made a threat that makes no sense at all, it's unacceptable. How can an entity that doesn't even have an arbitration tribunal want to order us to withdraw our CAS lawsuit? This is arrogant. I immediately sent our lawyer to Switzerland," declares Flamengo president Marcio Braga.
One of the biggest defenders of the cause, the red-black reveals that lawyer Pedro Trengouse has a meeting scheduled with secretaries of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) scheduled for next Monday, at 08:30 am, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
"We will file this appeal and comply with the CAS decision. CONMEBOL's decision is administrative. They don't even comply with FIFA's statute, which requires all confederations to have an arbitration tribunal. It's not legally constituted."
Disappointment with 'allies'
Disappointed with the attitude of the other South American federations, Marcio Braga says that the defeat at Conmebol had been predicted by the president of the CBF.
"I spoke to Ricardo before he boarded the plane, and he said, 'Marcio, I think we're going to lose 9-1.' President Blatter had already said that the CBF would have no doubts about its stance against the altitude. The only thing that surprised me was the stance of the other organizations. Julio Grondona (president of the Argentine Football Association) had voted with us the first time, and after complaints from Evo Morales and the Bolivian Football Federation, he changed his stance.
The manager, however, rules out any retaliation for the decision involving the Flamengo team, which faces Cienciano in Cuzco next Wednesday.
- We can't change the football schedule. We've been in this fight since last year, and we've been taking our precautions.