RIO DE JANEIRO: Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo has dropped a hint that Brazil’s government may be awaiting  FIFA help to find a face-saving compromise over one of the main obstacles to approval of the World Cup Law.

The legislation which underpins the legal status of the 2014 finals should have completed the parliamentary process last year. However snags arose over stadium alcohol provisions, commercial piracy controls and concessionary ticket prices for students and pensioners.

Rebelo, interviewed on TV Globo, said that the Brazilian government had no intention of conceding every detailed FIFA demand. He insisted, however, that President Dilma Rousseff intended to honour the original informal agreement with FIFA undertaken by predecessor Lula da Silva.

Asked about ticket prices, he conceded: “The rest of the world does not recognise half-price tickets for pensioners and students. There is no further comment to make right now.”

Sources close to the Brazilian organising committee have signalled that FIFA wants redevelopment of Maracana – which will host the World Cup Final – to be completed by March 1 next year so that it can host at least two test games ahead of the 2013 Confederations Cup.