BRASILIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected two of three injunctions sought to prevent the Copa America being held in the country because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 10-nation South American event is due to kick off on Sunday at Brasilia’s Mane Garrincha stadium despite criticism of its organizers for hastily relocating the tournament from co-hosts Colombia and Argentina.

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.

Last week, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) unexpectedly relocated the tournament after Colombia was dropped because of civil unrest and Argentina withdrew after a surge in coronavirus infections.

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. The injunction requests were presented by opposition parties and the national metalworking industry labour union.

The court rejected two suits against holding the event in Brazil, considering that authorisation of the games is a decision made by officials in the state where they will be played; all four governors in Copa America locations are Bolsonaro allies.

The tournament will be played in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Goias, Mato Grosso and the country’s Federal District. The final will take place July 10 at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

“It falls to [state governors and mayors] to set the appropriate health protocols and ensure they are respected in order to avoid a ‘Copavirus,’ with new infections and the emergence of new variants,” wrote Justice Lucia in her ruling.

The three cases before the court were the latest — and perhaps the last — edge-of-the-seat moment for organizers, who appear determined to pull off this edition of the world’s oldest running international football tournament despite the obstacles.

Already delayed by 12 months because of the pandemic, the Copa America nearly unraveled when original co-hosts Colombia and Argentina fell through at the last minute — the former because of violent anti-government protests, the latter because of a surge of Covid-19 cases.

Brazil is still suffering one of the world’s highest daily Covid-19 infection rates, although the number of deaths has been declining for about two months from its record high.

Bolsonaro and the CONMEBOL insist the tournament will be safe.

Brazilian officials are requiring matches to be held without fans and teams will undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing every 48 hours. Their movements will be restricted, and they will travel to matches in the four host cities on chartered flights.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2021