Overview
- Vasco sought the Maracanã because its home ground, São Januário, does not meet CONMEBOL’s minimum capacity rules for this knockout stage and the club wanted a natural‑grass venue.
- On Friday the 23rd Civil Chamber of Rio de Janeiro granted an urgent order directing the Fla‑Flu concession consortium to make the Maracanã available and rent it to Vasco on equitable terms.
- Vasco immediately announced the match would be held at the Maracanã and began ticket sales while coordinating with state authorities, the CBF and CONMEBOL on logistics.
- A later judicial action accepted an appeal by the Fla‑Flu consortium and put the prior order in question, returning the venue issue to the courts and leaving the stadium choice unsettled.
- Security agencies and the Public Prosecutor favoured the Maracanã because of access and crowd‑control concerns, a stance informed by CONMEBOL rules and by past incidents involving visiting Argentine fans in Rio.