São Paulo refuses to travel to Mexico for Copa

A day after CONMEBOL gave Mexican clubs the green light to host Copa Libertadores games, São Paulo said it would not travel to Mexico.

CONMEBOL had left the decision to travel to Mexico for tournament matches up to the respective South American clubs. São Paulo, paired with Chivas in the Round of 16, announced Friday it would not travel to Guadalajara nor anywhere else in Mexico.

"São Paulo Football Club takes this opportunity ... to vehemently repudiate whatever possibilities this match has of being played in the city of Guadalajara or anywhere else in Mexico after the high number of people infected wtih the H1N1 influenza virus," the club said in a statement.

Now, South America's confederation must find another location for the series, which was supposed to have started next week.

Nacional of Uruguay has not taken the same action officially but the club will reportedly follow suit. Nacional is scheduled to play San Luis in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16. --Goal.com