How many deaths/illnesses/injuries have come from playing at altitude? If they can't handle playing at altitude they need to stay home and forfeit the match. It may be difficult and players may not like it, but they've been doing it for a long time and it's simply part of international soccer. Playing in various conditions (heat, cold, humidity, altitude) is part of the game.
Which makes perfect sense to everyone including this guy: "The sky is touched with tears but we can live with that because football also has to live in all weather conditions and rain is a gift from heaven,' said an upbeat Blatter who survived a bitter presidential vote in 2002 but is this week set to be re-elected unopposed by the congress delegates." Except that someone convinced him that altitude does not qualify as a condition?? FIFA Rules, something assinine like when you get a yellow for taking your Shirt off to celebrate a goal!!
Adverse weather conditions? I remember heading to the chow-hall in Saudi, slowing down to watch all the pickup games the locals were playing on hard-packed sand fields. The evenings there were pretty cool, around 110-115F, but they were going at it pretty hard, sprinting up and down the field like it was nothing. For that matter there were always some pretty hard games of B-ball going on in the compound around that part of the day too. There's nothing high-altitude will do to you that those kind of temperatures won't. I guess the difference is that clubs like Flamengo haven't been asked to play there yet.
It looks like Evo Morales is sending some of his Diplomats over to Zurich to see if they can get the rule to be over turned.