'Lance!' says Fla also received a fax alleging concealment of a study on altitude

GLOBOESPORTE.COM

Flamengo's fight against high-altitude matches has gained support in Bolivia, a country with several cities over 2.750 meters above sea level and directly affected by FIFA's ban on matches at these locations. According to the newspaper "Lance!", Flamengo received a fax from Bolivian doctors with two complaints: one about the death of a player in Potosí and the concealment of a study commissioned by the Bolivian Football Federation that proves the harmful effects of playing high-altitude matches without time for acclimatization.

The doctors requested anonymity, but confirmed the allegations to the tabloid:

- We don't want to be persecuted in our country and considered guilty or prevented from practicing our profession - says a doctor who participated in the studies.

According to him, Mexican doctors also participated in the scientific research and have copies of the studies. The federation's goal was to prove that games in high-altitude cities are not a problem, but the study proved otherwise after tests on several players, including electrocardiograms, blood counts, and echocardiograms.

Furthermore, according to these doctors, Bolivian authorities concealed the death of a 23-year-old player in June of last year in Potosí, where Flamengo played four months earlier in the Copa Libertadores (and where Cruzeiro will play again this year, on the 16th). In that game, defender Moisés and midfielder Renato Augusto were the ones who suffered most from the effects of the 3.850m of the Bolivian city.

The deceased player was reportedly from Oruro, a city at roughly the same altitude as Potosí, where Santos recently played and lost to San José. He reportedly suffered a sudden illness in the 41st minute of the match during an interprovincial championship and was reportedly dead when he arrived at the hospital. An autopsy revealed respiratory problems caused by the effects of the altitude.

Flamengo hopes not to play in Cuzco\ Flamengo hopes that in the meeting that will be held next Thursday at the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) to discuss the FIFA rule prohibiting games in cities that are 2.750m above sea level without an acclimatization period, it will be decided that the game against Cienciano, on the 9th, will no longer be in Cuzco (3.400m altitude).\