SAO PAULO: The Brazilian president claimed on Sunday that COVID-19 protocols during football matches prevented him from attending a game.
Jair Bolsonaro has said he wanted to attend a Brazilian league game in the city of Santos, but did not because he is not vaccinated.
Why a vaccination passport? I wanted to watch Santos now and they told me I had to get the shot. Why should it be? Bolsonaro told reporters near Santos.
Bolsonaro is currently the subject of a Senate investigation for his handling of the pandemic. Brazil has passed 600,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
Santos said Bolsonaro did not request to attend the match, which saw Santos beat Gremio 1-0 at the Vila Belmiro stadium.
Authorities this week allowed clubs to occupy 30% of available seats in Brazilian league matches.
The protocol agreed upon by the Brazilian Football Confederation states that all people inside the stadiums must be vaccinated and recently tested.
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Mauricio Savarese is on https://twitter.com/msavarese
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