Brazil’s Botafogo protest return to pitch

“A good protocol is one that respects lives,” read a banner carried by Botafogo players before the Rio state tournament match, which was played in an empty stadium.

The players also joined the worldwide protests against racism, wearing black jerseys printed with a raised fist and the words “Vidas Negras Importam” — Black Lives Matter — and taking a knee at the start of the match.

The back of their jerseys read “Thank you to the professionals on the front lines against COVID-19.”

Botafogo and Fluminense, two of Rio’s biggest clubs, fought Mayor Marcelo Crivella’s decision to resume football at a time when infections are still not under control in Brazil.

The clubs initially won a reprieve, but a court later ruled they had to resume play this weekend.

Botafogo beat Cabofriense 6-2 at Nilton Santos Olympic stadium in their return.

Fluminense for their part planned to wear all-black jerseys for their match later against Volta Redonda, also in protest against the resumption of play.

Fluminense will play in the same venue as Botafogo, after winning a fight with the Rio de Janeiro Football Federation not to play in the Maracana stadium, where a coronavirus field hospital has been set up in the parking lot.

The club argued playing there was disrespectful to victims and their families.

Rio last week became the first place in South America to resume professional football matches, after a three-month hiatus to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

In a new first, city hall issued a decree Friday allowing fans to return to the stadiums from July 10.

Organizers will initially be required to maintain a distance of four square meters around each fan.

Brazil has the second-highest number of infections and deaths from the new coronavirus worldwide, after the United States: more than 1.3 million and 57,000, respectively.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who has compared the virus to a “little flu,” faces criticism for downplaying the pandemic and urging an end to stay-at-home measures.