Post by Webster on Jun 19, 2020 3:28:58 GMT
(The Guardian) Brazilian football resumed after a three-month hiatus on Thursday night, with Flamengo beating Bangu 3-0 at an empty Maracana stadium in the first game of the restarted Rio de Janeiro state championship, Reuters reports.
The match marked the return of Brazil’s state leagues, most of which were halted in March as the novel coronavirus spread.
Most of the other state championships, which are usually played between January and April before the national leagues take place in the second half of the year, have not yet set a date for resuming.
The resumption in Brazil has caused controversy, with two top clubs, Botafogo and Fluminense, saying they will not turn up for scheduled games this weekend.
Another 1,238 people were reported to have died in Brazil on Thursday from Covid-19 taking the overall death count to 47,748. Only the United States has recorded more deaths.