The whole Gremio team bizzarely wearing masks and lined up against Sao Luiz, as a protest to the Brazilian football authority who have yet to suspend the league despite the growing coronavirus.<\/p>\n
The protest comes as players and clubs across South America bemoaned at decisions by footballing authorities to order games to be played behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
“This protest by the players makes implicit our support for the championship to be halted, life must take precedence,” said Paulo Luz, Gremio’s director of football.<\/p>\n
Gremio manager Renato Portaluppi said the footballing authority must act in the time of emergency.<\/p>\n
“The whole world has stopped – shouldn’t Brazilian football stop as well?”<\/p>\n
“That’s our message and I hope they listen. We hope that good sense will prevail.”<\/p>\n
Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus appealed for football to be halted, saying players needed to be protected because “they are not super-human”.<\/p>\n
While the Brazilian Football Confederation suspended all national competitions, they said it was up to local federations to decide whether to halt the state championships.<\/p>\n
In Argentina, River Plate refused to play their Superliga Cup tie against Atletico Tucuman on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Buenos Aires club closed their stadium, leaving match officials and a delegation from Atletico outside the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"