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SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A safety engineer at the World Cup stadium where a giant crane collapse killed two workers allegedly warned his supervisor of possible problems with the operation, only to have his concerns brushed aside, a labour union leader charged Thursday, as sniping over the accident heated up. The incident has fed worries about Brazils capacity to host next years showcase tournament, as well as the 2016 Olympics, though authorities insist they will be ready for both. Sao Paulos Arena Corinthians was slated to be completed by the end of December, and workers have suggested that speed was a top priority on the construction site, with many working 12-hour shifts and skipping vacations. The stadium was initially scheduled to be part of the Confederations Cup earlier this year, but world footballs governing body FIFA scrapped the venue from the warm-up tournament because of financing problems before construction even started. Antonio de Sousa Ramalho, president of Sao Paulos civil industry workers association, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that supervisors pressed ahead with the operation to finish the roof despite several rainy days that soaked the soil. He said the engineer warned his supervisor that it appeared the ground was not stable enough to support the 500-ton piece of roofing. "To his surprise, he was told by the supervisor that nothing was wrong and work should continue," said Ramalho, who declined to provide the workers name for fear of possible reprisals. "They discussed the matter for a while but in the end the supervisors decision stood." Odebrecht, the powerful Brazilian construction company behind the stadium project and three other World Cup venues, strongly denied the claims, and a civil defence official said an initial inspection of the construction site a day after the accident showed no evidence the ground was unstable. "Odebrecht and Sport Club Corinthians clarify that there was no warning previous to the accident," the statement said. The company added that Ramalhos union does not represent most of the workers involved in the crane operation. Following a visit to the site Thursday, the civil defence official in charge of the inspection said there were no obvious signs that the ground was unstable. "When we looked at it, it didnt seem like the ground shifted, maybe just a few millimeters," Jair Paca de Lima said in a television interview. "Maybe after an analysis with the equipment we will know more." According to Brazilian media reports, investigators are also looking into human or mechanical error as possible reasons for the collapse. Lima said only the area where the accident happened will remain closed, but work can resume at most of the stadium as soon as Monday, when a three-day mourning period ends. Constructors will be allowed to clear the crane and the metal structure after getting clearance from civil defence authorities, which is expected to happen soon. The labour ministry later Thursday said constructors were prohibited from using the other nine cranes at the site until they can show "safety measures are in place and there is no more risk of accidents." Ramalho, the union leader, said workers had been pulling long hours for quite some time in an effort to get the stadium completed on time, a point confirmed Thursday by loader Sergio Almeida, who told the AP typical shifts were 12 to 13 hours long. Besides the Sao Paulo stadium, Odebrecht was involved in construction of the Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador and the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, both of which were delivered for this years Confederations Cup. It also renovated Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium, which will host the World Cup final. A small part of the roof at Arena Fonte Nova collapsed in May from weight of accumulated water from heavy rainstorm. At the time, officials denied any structural problems with the project and blamed a mistake by a worker who inspected the roof. FIFA said earlier Thursday it was waiting to learn more about the extent of the damage from Wednesdays accident. FIFA officials and other global soccer personalities are due in Brazil next week for the high-profile World Cup draw in the resort city of Costa do Sauipe. FIFA leaders have said repeatedly that there is no Plan B for next years tournament -- particularly since nearly 1 million tickets to the matches have already been sold. "It is too premature to make any detailed assessment on the situation of the Corinthians Arena as we are still awaiting the technical report to be able to evaluate the scale of the damage," FIFA said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "We will be able to provide an update earliest next week following the FIFA Organizing Committee of the FIFA World Cup." Jose Maria Marin, the president of the local World Cup organizing committee, said he lamented the accident but was confident it would not significantly affect the opener in Sao Paulo on June 12. "Im certain that the stadium will be ready for the start of the World Cup," he told Brazilian media. Cheap Authentic Air Max 720 .com) - The Winnipeg Jets got over one hurdle by snapping their longest losing streak of the season. Air Max 720 Uk Cheap http://www.airmax720ukcheap.com/. The move - the latest twist in Greeces nearly three-year financial freefall -- is the first such action by any of the countrys major sports bodies. It immediately halts all domestic track and field competitions, including track meets May 12-13 in several Greek cities. Air Max 720 For Sale . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Air Max 720 Uk Sale . You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 3pm et/Noon pt. The Thunder reclaimed the home-court advantage LA took with a Game 1 win on Friday night with a 118-112 road win in Game 3.HAMILTON, Ont. -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Olkinuora made 16 saves in the first period, and 30 overall, for his first professional shutout, as the IceCaps defeated Hamilton Bulldogs 3-0 Saturday in American Hockey League action. The goaltender deflected attention from his own accomplishment, and instead complimented his teammates on their recent form. "It feels good," said Olkinuora of his shutout. "But more importantly, it feels good to win again. Its a lot of fun. "The guys have found a way to play effectively and be tough to play. Weve been making smart decisions with the puck, and its fun to play behind these guys." Kael Mouillerat, Carl Klingberg and Eric ODell scored for the IceCaps (15-10-3). Dustin Tokarski stopped 36 shots for the Bulldogs (12-12-3) . The Bulldogs got the better of an entertaining first period in which both teams enjoyed quality scoring chances. A giveaway at the defensive blue line by Hamilton winger Nick Tarnasky gave Jerome Samson room to operate along the right wing. The St. Johns forward moved in to the hashmarks and released a rising wrist shot that beat Tokarski but rang off his near post. Just over ten minutes into the first period, another Tarnasky giveaway sent the IceCaps into the Bulldogs zone on a 2-on-1 break, but Tokarski was alert in sliding to his left and snaring the one-time shot with his glove. Tarnasky found himself in the spotlight once again with 4:17 to play in the first period, when he enjoyed Hamiltons best opportunity to score the games first goal. A cross-ice pass found him posted just outside Olkinuoras crease at the right post, but Tarnasky couldnt corral the puck, and the goaltender recovered and sprawled to deny the chance. Olkinuora enjoyed the heavy workload in the opening period, and argued that it helped him to find his rhythm on Saturday. "You could say that it gets you into the game," he said. "Every game is different, but I do enjoy games where you can get into the action pretty early and often. Obviously, I dont tell the guys that." The IceCaps enjjoyed a lengthy two-man advantage early in the second period, as Maxime Macenauer was whistled for slashing at 2:43 and Mike Blunden followed with a delay of game infraction 22 seconds later.dddddddddddd Tokarski was sharp in denying St. Johns on multiple occasions, as Hamilton held the visitors off the scoreboard over the course of the 5-on-3. There was little for the goaltender to do, however, when the IceCaps opened the scoring at 7:48 of the second period. Samsons initial slap shot was kicked aside by Tokarski, but fell to Mouillerat in the low slot, and he circled the fallen goaltender and slid a shot inside the near post as Tokarski dove unsuccessfully to meet it. The IceCaps made it 2-0 at 14:35 of the second, when Carl Klingberg converted his second breakaway opportunity of the game. Latching onto a loose puck in the neutral zone, the St. Johns forward shifted from his backhand to his forehand side and slid the puck past Tokarski. Hamilton coach Sylvain Lefebvre bemoaned his teams inability to gain momentum in the second period, even after successfully killing the two-man advantage. "We played well in the first, but in the second, penalties killed us," he said. "Usually when you kill a 5-on-3, you have good chances to win the game. We just couldnt get the momentum, and when you take too many penalties, it taxes some of the players and others sit on the bench and wait." St. Johns struck early in the third period to extend its lead to 3-0 and put the game out of reach. The initial point shot by Brenden Kichton was saved by Tokarski, but the rebound bounced to ODell, who easily slotted the puck into the open net at 3:54. Olkinuora made an exceptional save to preserve his shutout bid with 3:21 to play, picking Martin St. Pierres close-range wrist shot out of the air with his glove. The goaltender pointed to improved breakouts and decision-making as the factors that improved his teams play in the final two periods. "I think our guys made an adjustment and a push," said Olkinuora. "We had over 20 shots in the second period and its all because we found a way to go out of our zone cleaner, and we made smarter decisions." ' ' '