Vasco in Court: In Search of the Maracanã against Boca Juniors

Vasco has just taken an important step in its journey in the Copa Sul-Americana! The club filed a lawsuit to ensure that the semifinal, scheduled for 20 of October against Boca Juniors, takes place at the Maracanã. What is the defense’s strategy? Point out contradictions in the arguments put forward by the consortium responsible for the stadium, which is managed by Flamengo and Fluminense.

Grounds for the Lawsuit

UOL gained access to the petition submitted by Vasco’s lawyers, and take a look—the appeal is packed with arguments! Let’s summarize the main points:

Time between matches: The consortium said it couldn’t make the Maracanã available due to the time between the games, but Vasco showed that the interval between two matches at the stadium is longer than what was applied to matches involving Flamengo and Fluminense.
- The game of Fluminense vs Santos takes place on 18 of October, and Flamengo’s match against Estudiantes is scheduled for 22 of October. Meanwhile, the clash between Vasco and Boca will happen on 20, meaning only 48 hours after the tricolores’ match.
Consecutive matches: Vasco also pointed out that the Maracanã has hosted matches on consecutive days with only 24 hours between the games. After all, if that was allowed before, why not now?

“The proximity of the matches by itself does not explain the refusal, when equal sequences of games in a shorter time frame were accepted for Flamengo and Fluminense.”

The Playing Surface Issue

In the consortium’s refusal, the justification was preserving the pitch. But Vasco didn’t stay quiet and used documents from Greenleaf, which takes care of the pitch, to show that they have procedures to maintain the field even with games scheduled very close together.

In addition, Vasco reminded that the Maracanã replaced the entire pitch just recently, right after an NFL game. Based on that, the club’s view is that the consortium’s justifications lost their strength.

“This renewal changes everything, since the complaints about the quality of the ground refer to the old pitch.”

Events at the Maracanã? How so?

Another intriguing part of the lawsuit is that Vasco pointed out an inconsistency in the consortium’s position. They claim that the field must be preserved, but at the same time they are holding shows and even an NFL game at the Maracanã! Which doesn’t really make much sense, does it?

Seven events were listed to take place between 2025 and 2026, including religious meetings and shows. In other words, they make room for a stage and show infrastructure, but they don’t release the pitch for a football semifinal?

“The concessionaire admits using the pitch for this type of event, but argues that preservation is essential to prevent a CONMEBOL semifinal.”

The Conmebol Challenge

Besides all of this, Vasco also has to deal with Conmebol regulations, which require a stadium with a minimum capacity of 30 thousand seats for the Sul-Americana semifinals. And while they considered playing at São Januário, Vasco argues that the stadium is not suitable due to its synthetic pitch.

The Memorandum of Understanding

And to make things even more complicated, there is the Memorandum of Understanding, in which Vasco, Flamengo, and Fluminense had signed an agreement so that Vasco could use the Maracanã on four dates in 2026.

Although the concessionaire claims it didn’t sign it, Vasco counters by saying that the other two clubs’ signatures already validate the agreement. They also mentioned that the consortium has used the conditions of this memorandum on previous occasions, and now they are contradicting themselves.

What Happens Next?

In the lawsuit, Vasco is asking for urgent relief, which is basically a quick response, since they have until 5 to inform Conmebol which stadium will be used for the match.

Let’s keep an eye on this plot and hope Vasco manages to get what it’s aiming for! After all, everyone deserves a semifinal full of emotion at the Maracanã!