Clarification note - Flamengo x Barcelona de Guayaquil
By Flamengo Regatta Club - inClube de Regatas do Flamengo hereby publicly provides the following clarifications regarding the change of venue for the match between Flamengo and Barcelona de Guayaquil, from the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasília to the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, valid for the semi-final of the Copa Libertadores, which will be held on September 22, 2021, at 21:30 pm.
Due to health issues related to the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, at the time the match was decided, there was no authorization for football matches with spectators to be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is why Conmebol, the event organizer, initially scheduled the match for Brasília.
Under the terms of the competition regulations, the venue could be changed up to 15 days before the match date. As a precaution, Flamengo did not sell any tickets for this event before the deadline for a possible change.
There was a precedent for changing the venue, initially planned for another with an audience, which occurred in the game against Defensa y Justicia, on July 21, 2021, which was scheduled for Rio de Janeiro and was changed to Brasília.
We are living in turbulent times, with unpredictable situations that depend on public authorities, a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving the match to Maracanã, Flamengo's traditional home stadium, was a clear and precedent-setting regulatory possibility.
In fact, later, the Rio de Janeiro city government, due to the improvement in Covid-19 rates and the significant progress made in vaccination, concluded that by adopting health protocols, with provision for vaccination and testing, it would be possible to create a safe environment for the return of the public to the Maracanã stadium.
In this sense, the city hall released 50% of the stadium's public capacity for the match to be held on September 22, 2021, which was announced on September 7, 2021 and published in the Official Gazette on the 8th.
It is important to note that the match against Barcelona de Guayaquil was initially scheduled for Brasília because there was a health and force majeure situation preventing Clube de Regatas do Flamengo from taking its fans to Maracanã.
Once this unforeseeable and prohibitive situation was eliminated, Flamengo and CONMEBOL, within the rules, agreed to move the match to Maracanã, where Flamengo regularly plays its home games. Maracanã, due to its proximity to its training center, ease of access, and, most importantly, because it serves the majority of its fans in Rio de Janeiro, is the priority stadium for Flamengo's matches.
Although Flamengo exercised an option provided for in the regulations and did so due to an unexpected improvement in the pandemic, the club wants to help its fans with airlines and hotels.
The Club understands that airlines and hotels must recognize the force majeure situation and reimburse fans who purchased their tickets and accommodation in advance and will support any requests for refunds or use of these credits, just as it supported when the host city of the 2019 Libertadores final was changed, also due to force majeure.
We appreciate everyone's understanding and reiterate that we will be in contact with airlines starting today to explain the situation, which should benefit consumers.