Judges held an emergency session on Thursday to consider requests to halt the competition because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They also expressed their dismay at President Jair Bolsonaro's last-minute decision to stage the tournament, which will be held with no fans in stadiums.

The tournament, postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, was originally to have been staged in Colombia and Argentina.

Earlier this week, Brazil's players criticised the decision to hold the tournament in their country.

Brazil has recorded more than 475,000 deaths attributed to coronavirus, the second highest number in the world after the US.

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