Chapecoense fined for not playing final match
Chapecoense was fined 100,000 reais—or $29,850—and handed an automatic 3–0 defeat by the Brazilian Football Confederation for choosing not to play their final match against Atletico Mineiro, ESPN Deportes reports.
The club made the decision not to play just a few days after a charter plane carrying the team crashed in Brazil, killing 71 of 77 people aboard.
The CBF followed normal protocol with the match, sending a group of referees over to the field to wait 30 minutes for teams to arrive. Neither team showed, and both were marked with a 3–0 loss.
CBF head Marco Polo Del Nero had ordered Chapecoense to play their final match using a team made up mostly of junior players before talking to Atletico Mineiro president Daniel Nepomuceno and changing his mind. Nepomuceno called the match insignificant in light of the tragedy.
Chapecoense closed the season with 52 points, in 11th place, and Atletico Mineiro was fourth with 62.