Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

With five days of the kickoff of the Copa América in Brazil, the suspense remains whole: the Supreme Court must decide Thursday of its holding, while the players of the Seleçao declared themselves Tuesday "against" the tournament, even if ' they have no plans to boycott him.

"Supreme Court President Luiz Fux on Thursday called an extraordinary 24-hour virtual session for judges to rule on the achievement of the Copa America in Brazil," the body said in a statement. .

The announcement made on Tuesday evening represents yet another twist that again sows doubt on this highly controversial tournament which was initially to be played a year ago, in Argentina and Colombia, before being postponed because of the Covid pandemic. -19.

The 11 judges will rule urgently because of the "exceptional" nature of the appeals presented by a union and a left-wing party, the kick-off being scheduled for Sunday, with the Brazil-Venezuela match, in Brasilia.

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This judgment will take place "virtually", without debate between the judges, who will send their written votes in turn, Thursday, from 00:00 to 23:59.

The tournament is scheduled to start on June 13 and end on July 10.

- Two remedies -

Even if the appeals are unsuccessful, other threats hang over the Copa: the mayor of Rio de Janeiro said on Friday that he could cancel the matches scheduled in his city if the health situation were to worsen.

Eight days ago, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) announced to everyone's surprise that Brazil would host the event after the withdrawals of Argentina and Colombia, very affected by the Covid-19, Colombia is also affected by social unrest.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro immediately accepted Conmebol's request, triggering an avalanche of criticism, in a country where more than 475,000 people have died from Covid-19, with the threat of a third wave in the coming weeks.

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On Tuesday evening, players of the Brazilian national team expressed their opposition to the tournament, but ruled out any possibility of a boycott.

"We are against the organization of the Copa America, but we will never say no to the Brazilian selection", published the players on their official accounts of several social networks, after the qualifying match for the World Cup-2022 against Paraguay (2-0 victory).

"For various reasons, be they humanitarian or professional, we are dissatisfied with the way Conmebol has handled the Copa América," they added.

- Political battle -

Mastercard, one of the main sponsors, also expressed its dissatisfaction.

The American company announced Wednesday to withdraw its logo from the competition, a first since it sponsored it (1992).

Mastercard will however honor its sponsorship contract, the amount of which has not been disclosed.

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The choice of Brazil was strongly criticized by epidemiologists, the health situation in this country being much more worrying than in Argentina, which had withdrawn precisely because of the pandemic.

In Brazil, this Copa América goes well beyond the framework of football, entering fully into the field of politics.

Jair Bolsonaro has continued to defend the tournament, arguing that the country will observe the same health protocols as for matches in the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, with meetings behind closed doors.

As soon as rumors of a sling appeared in the national team, Brazilian coach Tite began to be treated as a "leftist" by supporters of the far-right president on social networks.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, eldest son of the Head of State, had asked the players "not to let themselves be manipulated" and to do everything to "avoid a boycott".

Another senator, Renan Calheiros, fierce opponent of President Bolsonaro, had instead asked Neymar, the biggest star of the Seleçao, to boycott the "championship of death".

"At no time did we want this discussion to take on a political dimension," yet assured the players in their manifesto.

© 2021 AFP