Police in Belo Horizonte, home of Brazilian giant Atletico Mineiro, warned FIFA officials on Wednesday that a massive demonstration totaling over 100,000 protestors had been planned ahead oftoday’s Confederations Cup semifinal between Brazil and Uruguay. Local police have called for the match to be postponed as they fear they do not have sufficient resources to guarantee the safetyof those attending the game.
According to Spanish daily AS, the authorities want to avoid a repeat of the disturbances that accompanied the meeting of Japan and Mexico over theweekend, when 70,000 protestors filled the streets.
Martins Sant’ana, General Commander of the Minas Gerais State military police (PMMG), has warned demonstrators thatif they approach the police cordon, which will be situated about a mile from the stadium, “Combat will be inevitable.”
The game kicked off on schedule.