Who could have imagined the legal saga ending today? Brazil’s Superior Tribunal de Justiça rejected the final appeal from the Maracanã consortium, confirming the iconic Rio stadium as the venue for the Tuesday, October 20 rematch.
The ruling was signed by Court President Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, who found the Flamengo‑Fluminense consortium, operating as Fla‑Flu Serviços S.A., lacked legal standing to halt the earlier Rio de Janeiro court decision. He argued the dispute didn’t involve a direct public interest, since the stadium operator isn’t a public service concessionaire under the law.
The case turned into a procedural marathon after Vasco reached the semifinals by ousting Independiente Santa Fe. Their home ground, São Januário, falls short of CONMEBOL’s 30,000‑seat minimum, holding only about 20,000 fans, forcing a search for an alternative. Maracanã was the logical choice, yet Flamengo and Fluminense refused to loan it, citing turf preservation.
Vasco then turned to Rio courts and won an initial order securing the venue. The consortium struck back on Saturday when Judge Suely Lopes Magalhães accepted its arguments and lifted the injunction, warning of security risks because a basketball game between Flamengo and Botafogo was slated for the adjacent Maracanãzinho that same Tuesday.
In response, Vasco’s legal team, joined by SAF officials and Assembly president Alan Belaciano, fought back fiercely. They argued a continental semifinal can’t be equated with a basketball match and accused the consortium of bad faith. Judge Joaquim Domingos de Almeida Neto agreed, overturning the injunction on Tuesday. In my view, the court’s decision restores fairness to the competition.
Hours after the setback, Flamengo and Fluminense appealed to the STJ in Brasília, essentially their last resort. The supreme court’s Thursday ruling closed the door on further challenges and upheld the Rio de Janeiro court’s verdict.
These legal swings threatened to upend the tournament’s logistics. CONMEBOL warned both Vasco and the CBF that another adverse ruling would force the match to move to Asunción, Paraguay, and even floated a possible venue in Manaus, far from Rio.
With the STJ’s clarification, ticket sales for Tuesday’s clash are already sold out, promising a packed Maracanã for an electrifying night. The Brazilian side arrives with a 1‑0 first‑leg lead from La Bombonera, while Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s squad must chase a comeback against one of South America’s most intimidating arenas to meet the winner of the Atlético Mineiro‑Montevideo City Torque tie (the Brazilians won the first leg 3‑0). Vasco will need a swift strike to force a decider.