The international break continues and Argentina and Brazil, two of the top teams in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifier, were face-to-face at 12:30 PM IST on Monday. The match had to end within five to six minutes as Brazilian government health officials intervened and called off the match as four players did not follow the COVID-19 guidelines.
Health officials said the four players had lied to immigration officials about their return from England. Amy Bandia, Emiliano Martínez, Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero were the four players who played in the English Premier League, were asked to return to their “native country”.
BREAKING: Brazil vs Argentina has been suspended as Brazilian health officials storm the pitch to deport Emiliano Martinez, Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero.#AVFC #thfc pic.twitter.com/g9tGmV1pNt
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) September 5, 2021
Brazilian health officials intervened in the match, which caused much outrage among the players of the domestic and foreign team. CONMEBOL later made a statement, saying: “By the decision of the match referee, the match organized by FIFA for the World Cup Qualifier between Brazil and Argentina has been suspended.”
England is one of the countries red-listed by the Brazilian government to deal with the threat of Kovid-19. Patrons arriving from England are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Despite returning from England, these four Argentine players were seen in the team bus. This was in violation of the quarantine rules and thus the match had to be stopped.
In the Brazil vs Argentina World Cup Qualifier, the Brazilian police have arrived from England to detain all 4 Argentine players who lied to enter the country, insanity.
— Suz Sport (@SportySuz20) September 5, 2021
“A match between some of the best in the world ends like this. I would like the Argentinians to understand that as a coach I have to take care of my players. If people come and say they have to deport them, So I won’t allow that,” Lionel Scoloni told the channel TYC Sports. “We wanted to play the match, so the Brazilians wanted to do the same,” he said.
Ednaldo Rodrigues, interim president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, also found the actions of health officials “strange”. “The Brazilian Football Federation was never in favor of it,” he told TV Globo.
Four Argentine players will be fined according to the rules of the Brazilian government.
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