Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - July 7, 2019 Brazil's Dani Alves celebrates winning the Copa America with the trophy [REUTERS]Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected two of three injunctions sought to prevent the Copa America soccer tournament being held in the country because of the coronavirus pandemic. The court is expected to throw out a third injunction bid and allow the tournament to go ahead. Justice Carmen Lucia said in her decision that it does not exempt authorities from adopting public health safety measures needed to prevent transmission of the virus that has killed almost half a million Brazilians. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has played down the severity of the coronavirus and fought against lockdowns, threw his support behind the move. But public health experts and footballers questioned the wisdom of hosting the tournament with a pandemic raging.

Source: Standard Digital June 11, 2021 07:18 UTC