RIO DE JANEIRO – The government of the state of Rio de Janeiro says a judge has canceled Brazil's soccer friendly against England scheduled for Sunday at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium.
The state government says in an emailed statement it will appeal the cancellation decided Thursday by Judge Adriana Costa dos Santos.
Local media says the judge canceled the game because the stadium doesn't meet necessary safety standards. But the government says in the statement that the stadium meets all the safety standards required.
It says that because of a "bureaucratic error" the report proving that the stadium is safe wasn't delivered to the proper authorities.
Calls to the Rio state prosecutors who reportedly asked for the delay of the match were unanswered. Thursday was a national holiday in Brazil.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.