Corinthians Awaits CONMEBOL's Decision On Appeal; Will Continue In Libertadores

After having appealed a decision by South American football governing body CONMEBOL forcing Corinthians to play its Copa Libertadores home games behind closed doors, the club's Football Dir Roberto de Andrade has revealed the team "will accept any punishment and continue in the competition," according to ESPN BRASIL. The Brasileiro club was ordered by CONMEBOL to play its home games behind closed doors after a young San Jose fan was killed by a flare thrown by a Corinthians supporter. The incident happened in Oruro, Bolivia during the teams' Libertadores clash. Andrade said, "We will play in the Libertadores, what was handed to us we will accept, we will defend ourselves in the legal department, but we will continue in the competition." Corinthians is hoping for CONMEBOL to make a ruling on the club's appeal Monday as the team is scheduled to play a Libertadores home match on Wednesday. If the decision is not overturned and the club is forced to play behind closed doors, Corinthians will have to refund "the more than 20,000 tickets which have already been sold for the game" (ESPN BRASIL, 2/24).