Brazil’s soccer another field of virus conflict for Bolsonaro

Bloomberg

The controversy over President Jair Bolsonaro’s push to resume normal life in Brazil amid the mounting coronavirus death toll has spread to soccer, the country’s most revered sport.
Bolsonaro’s drive to resume games as soon as possible has run into opposition from top clubs and players, who prefer to wait until the pandemic has subsided. The clash is yet another flashpoint highlighting the divide bedeviling Brazil: The federal government is intent on reopening the economy while local authorities enforce lockdowns to curb the outbreak that’s still spreading fast.
Deciding on the timing of when to resume professional leagues is proving to be a challenge for every country and sport, but for Brazil, where soccer is a national obsession, the debate is all the more heated. That added to the bitterly fought tug-of-war between the president and state governors has only clouded the question of whether athletes can get back to practice and has also exacted a price.
Bolsonaro, whose reopen-at-all-costs stance has alienated even his allies, lost his second health minister in less than a month.
The president declared beauty salons, barber shops and gyms as “essential businesses” this week, allowing them to open again. State governors, though, are refusing to proceed with that directive, making it unclear when — and how — soccer facilities will open for training. When asked, the presidency did not comment on a return to games.
Brazil’s powerful soccer federation asks for prudence.
“Only the dynamics of the disease will determine the moment in which competitions can be resumed,” Walter Feldman, the secretary-general of the body known as CBF, said in reply to written questions.
Top clubs like Rio de Janeiro-based Botafogo and Fluminense have publicly opposed resuming activities. Former 1994 World Cup winner Rai, currently a director at Sao Paulo FC, one of the country’s biggest clubs, called Bolsonaro’s handling of the crisis “irresponsible” and told Globo Sport that the club won’t return to activities quickly.
Yet the clubs in the country’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul reached an agreement to resume the regional championship in mid-July or early August, without spectators.
Earlier this month, the state’s top clubs Gremio and Internacional returned to practice at their stadiums, only to have the local government order them off the pitch.
Around the world, federations are considering when and how to resume play after emerging from lockdowns, balancing local government rules with the demands of clubs and players and the need to complete tournaments to recover lost revenue.
Germany’s Bundesliga on Saturday will be the first major soccer league to resume play, also without spectators. South Korea held games again last week, with crowd noise pumped in by stereo.