Flamengo presented this Monday morning all the procedures for fans who will go to Maracanã on Wednesday (12), for the game against Corinthians, for the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil, at 21:45 pm. In a press conference held at the Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation (Ferj), with the presence of Colonel Silvio Luis, from Gepe, and the Director of Competitions at Ferj, Marcelo Vianna, the Flamengo's Operations Manager, Severino Braga, explained stadium access, the location and arrival of rival fans, street closures, and ticket exchange procedures. Also present at the panel Joaquim Dinis, Director of Operations at CET-Rio, Eduardo Furtado, Urban Control Coordinator, and Carlos Dias Cristo, Technical Deputy Director of the Municipal Guard.
"Nothing here was invented. It's the result of studies and work done in previous games. Fans go to the stadium and have no idea of the work that went into it beforehand. When fans are having fun, we're working. Everyone here plays a part in the success of the event. There are several teams. It's not about opening the gates, having the game, and then closing everything. It's an opportunity to disseminate information and answer questions. We want to reach as many people as possible to make things easier for everyone," Severiano explained at the opening of the press conference.
Safety
The Copa do Brasil semifinal is considered a high-risk match by authorities. Therefore, some precautions from other matches have been repeated, while others have been adapted. There will be 1600 officers, including Military Police, Municipal Guard, and private security, at the event. Streets will be closed for more than two hours before and after the match to facilitate access and evacuation of fans. The Gepe (Special Police Group in Stadiums) alone will have 500 personnel inside and outside the Maracanã stadium. The Municipal Guard will deploy 352 officers.
Street blockades
As previously done, several roads near the stadium will be blocked starting at 19 p.m. After this time, only those with tickets for the match will be allowed to enter.
The following are the blocking points.
1. Professor Manoel de Abreu Avenue, between São Francisco Xavier Street and President Castelo Branco Avenue
(only at the end of the match - 23:30 pm)
2. Professor Eurico Rabelo Street between Paula e Souza Street and Professor Manoel de Abreu Avenue
3. Counselor Olegário Street
4. Artur Menezes Street
5. Isidro de Figueiredo Street
6. Visconde de Itamarati Street between São Francisco Xavier Street and Professor Eurico Rabelo Street
7. Maracanã Avenue between São Francisco Xavier Street and Presidente Castelo Branco Avenue, both directions
8. Mata Machado Street, between Maracanã Avenue and Paula e Souza Avenue
9. Oduvaldo Cozzi Viaduct, access to Maracanã Avenue
Only fans with physical tickets to the game will be allowed at these locations. As in the past, the membership card will not be valid for stadium entry.
Ticket exchanges
Flamengo has made several points available for exchanging tickets for this game.
from 10 / 09 to 12 / 09
Only exchange for FLAMENGO x CORINTHIANS
Plaza Niterói (Exclusive for fan club members) 10am to 20pm
Botafogo Praia Shopping 10am to 20pm
Grande Rio Shopping Mall 10am to 20pm
Metrô Carioca (Exclusive for fan members) 08am to 22pm
Novo Rio Bus Station 10am to 22pm*
Santos Dumont Airport 10am to 22pm*
* Except for September 10th
Sale and exchange for FLAMENGO x CORINTHIANS
Gávea 10am to 20pm
Madureira 10am to 20pm
New America 20am to 20pm
Meier 10am to 17pm
Grocery store 10am to 17pm
Maracanã 10am to 17pm**
Downtown 10am to 20pm
For more information, click here. Buy your tickets for the game in advance. Don't leave it to the last minute. There will be no ticket offices open at the stadium. Therefore, it will not be possible to exchange tickets at Maracanã on the day of the match.
Severiano explained that the need to exchange tickets is due to security reasons and also because it is a team effort between Flamengo and the general authorities.
"We're all in this together. You might lose some comfort now, but it's a day. We value general safety above all else, and we trust that this way we'll keep out those who only want to disrupt the event. We're concerned about those who want to watch the game in peace."
Corinthians fans
Approximately 2150 tickets were made available to Corinthians fans, all sold in São Paulo. There will be a section on Eurico Rabelo Street for visiting fans, as well as inside the Maracanã stadium, where there will be no contact with the red-and-black fans. Gates are scheduled to open at 19:15 PM, and organized fans will be escorted to the stadium by military police. The number of tickets corresponds to 5% of the stadium's capacity, the same amount allocated to Flamengo fans for the return match on the 26th in São Paulo.
"We spoke with Corinthians fans to avoid events like those in 2016. We have very strict control over who can and can't come to the stadiums, and we're doing this very well. So much so that since 2016, there have been no more events at games here in Rio," said Colonel Silvio Luiz, commander of the Gepe (National Institute of Sport and Sport), a state-run organization.
Flannel girls
There will be reinforcements to curb the actions of the parking attendants. In the last three games, 28 were arrested per game and all taken to the police station. But, as Colonel Silvio Luiz explained, "the legislation is lenient. We can't arrest anyone without an arrest warrant. It's a stopgap measure, but it works game by game. The same applies to scalpers, who now even use debit and credit machines. There are more than 200 registered across all games. But by law, we can't keep them locked up."
To avoid parking disruptions, the services reiterate and urge the use of public transportation. Supervia trains and the Metro will operate normally before and after departure.
