RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - A football match in Brazil was cancelled in front of 20,000 stunned fans because of a broadcasting rights dispute.
The Atletico Paranaense-Coritiba match on Sunday in the Parana state league was to be broadcast live on YouTube, but the state football federation blocked the move.
According to the teams, the referee was ordered not to start the match because of alleged problems with the accreditation of YouTube’s personnel.
After the players held hands in the center of Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba, the teams abandoned the match.
The clubs refused to sign a deal with leading broadcaster Globo, and made a deal that the broadcast would be available only on YouTube.
Before the scheduled match, a Coritiba fan was accidentally shot dead by police outside the stadium.
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