Brazil is, perhaps, the worst country in the whole world, when it comes to fighting the coronavirus.
The president, Jair Bolsonaro, never confronted this pandemic as he should have, nor did he treat it seriously. Currently, this vast South American country has, almost every day, more than thirty thousand new cases of COVID-19.
Also, nearly a thousand deaths per day are something so familiar that people are no longer surprised. Nevertheless, the state of Rio de Janeiro decided that football should return. Moreover, as of July 10, it may have fans watching the matches from the terraces. A perfect recipe for a tragedy, isn't it?
The first game after the pandemic that in Brazil is still far from over was between Flamengo and Bangu, on June 18. The game took place for the State Championship and, in an empty Maracanã, something so strange, the team coached by Jorge Jesus won by 3 to nothing.
On the very same day, the state of Rio de Janeiro counted 274 coronavirus casualties. However, state football federation does not seem to care. For them, money is more important.
Even with a great revolt in social networks, the championship continued. On Sunday, June 28, Fluminense faced Volta Redonda, who, three hours before the match, had three players diagnosed with coronavirus. Players who had been training with the squad for weeks. Players who may have passed the epidemic on to fellow teammates. But the State Football Federation doesn't seem to care.
From July 10, fans will be allowed in matches in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The Rio state that has more than 100,000 cases and the highest mortality rate in the entire country will once again have games with 1/3 of the stadiums' capacity. To be aware, Maracanã Stadium can host up to 78,000 people. In other words, 26 thousand people will be able to see the matches in one of the temples of world football.
This temple, who hosted some of the game's most famous moments, can cause an even greater tragedy. A country that has nearly 60,000 casualties by the coronavirus has rulers worrying more about the return of football. They want Flamengo, Vasco and other teams to enter the field. They want players to take risks, and now they want people to go to the stadium to reduce the economic damage caused to football by the pandemic.
In Germany, Italy and other countries who managed to gain control of the virus’ spreading in a much better way than Brazil, games are being held behind closed doors. In Brazil, fans will be allowed in.
Famous coach, Renê Simões, who has coached teams like Honduras and Jamaica and coached major Brazilian clubs like Botafogo and Bahia, gave a terrible justification for the return of football. According to him, he has a friend who beat his wife during the quarantine. For him, football's return could help to combat domestic violence.
The numbers of domestic violence rose sharply during the lockdown in Brazil. It is a fact, and there is nothing to argue about it. However, defending the return of football in the greatest crisis the world faced in this century is exceptionally evil. Instead of encouraging campaigns of violence against women, Renê defends the return of football, which in addition to not fighting this problem, may come to cause a tragedy when it comes to the coronavirus.
In Brazil, we love football. Many of us are passionate about this beautiful sport, which gives us so much joy. However, it is not yet time for the game to return to our country. It is even more absurd to consider placing people inside a stadium. If that happens, the sport that used to make us so happy, one day may end up becoming synonymous with a national tragedy.