Brazil’s Paranaense Football Federation (FPF) has been criticised after it made the late decision to postpone a Campeonato Paranaense state championship game between Atletico Paranaense and Coritiba that was due to be live streamed via social media platforms Facebook and YouTube.
The two clubs said on Saturday that their games in the competition would be offered via their official pages on Facebook and YouTube after failing to agree terms on a rights deal with media company Globo.
The move was heralded as a first for a top-level competition in Brazilian football, but just 45 minutes before the 5pm kick-off of Sunday’s game between the two teams, the FPF ordered that the match be postponed.
The FPF claimed that concern over lack of accreditation for certain media professionals at the game was the reason behind its decision.
Coritiba president Rogério Bacellar criticised the FPF’s move as an “arbitrary” decision, while Atletico Paranaense counterpart Luiz Sallim Emed said the clubs would “not be held hostage” by broadcasters.
“It's a narrow, obtuse idea of the president of the federation,” Sallim Emed said, according to the ESPN website. “We are still going to break this retrograde barrier, and not be held hostage by some broadcasters.”
Sallim Emed added that the clubs would not accept the ruling for future matches.