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Brazil's supreme court names Sport Recife as only champion in 1987

Alexandre Loureiro / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It took three decades to settle, but 1987 belongs to Sport Club do Recife.

Brazil's supreme court, the Supremo Tribunal Federal, maintained Tuesday that Sport Recife is the sole champion of Brazilian football in 1987, dismissing a grievance brought forward by Flamengo.

The judicial decision, reached by collecting three of four votes, is final and can't be reversed.

Flamengo won a league in 1987 that had been created by the clubs involved, while the Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol organised a separate competition won by Sport Recife.

Marco Aurelio Mello, Alexandre de Moraes, and Rosa Weber were the three judges who voted to reject Flamengo's appeal. The lone supporter of the appeal was Luis Roberto Barroso, who is a supporter of the Mengao, the most popular club in Brazil.

"There is no place worse than the judicial system to discuss sports," Barroso said, according to the Associated Press. He added: "40 million fans have their hearts shattered. And that includes me."

After the ruling, Sport Recife invited supporters to visit the club's museum and see the trophy commemorating its triumph in 1987.

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