Football superstars have been involved in a moment of absolute anarchy as health authorities invaded the field to drag players into quarantine.
Brazil’s World Cup qualifying clash against Argentina was dramatically abandoned on Monday morning shortly after kick-off as controversy over Covid-19 protocols erupted.
Some of the biggest football stars on the planet, including Lionel Messi and Neymar, were involved in the moment of absolute anarchy as health authorities walked onto the field in an apparent attempt to order four Argentina players into quarantine.
The match between the two giants of South American football came to a halt when the group of Brazilian public health officials walked towards Argentina players, triggering a melee between the two teams.
Argentina’s players trudged off the pitch to the locker room as the furore unfolded.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi later re-emerged from the tunnel without his team shirt on as confusion swept around the stadium.
Messi appeared to be negotiating with the health officials while the remainder of his team stayed in the dressing room.
This all unfolded as the Brazilian team remained on the field waiting for the match to resume.
The match was 0-0 when it was suspended before both teams and South American football confederation CONMEBOL confirmed that the match had been abandoned.
The stunning intervention came just hours after Brazil’s health authorities said four players in Argentina’s squad based in England should be placed in “immediate quarantine” for breaching Covid-19 protocols.
It was not an empty threat.
Antonio Barra Torres, the president of Brazil’s health agency Anvisa, said after the on-field drama unfolded that four Argentina players will be fined and deported for allegedly not following the country’s Covid protocols. The agency claimed the four players — since identified as Premier League players Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa) and Cristian Romero (Tottenham) — had provided “false” information on their immigration forms about being in the UK in the last 14 days. Brazil entry requirements state anyone who has been in the UK in last 14 days must quarantine.
Romero, Lo Celso and Martinez were all in the Argentina starting line-up that kicked off the game — triggering the intervention from agents wearing Anvisa clothing.
“We got to this point because everything that Anvisa directed, from the first moment, was not fulfilled,” Barra Torres said on Brazilian television.
“(The four players) were directed to remain isolated while awaiting deportation, but they did not comply. They went to the stadium and they entered the field, in a series of breaches.”
The agency issued a statement, describing the four players as a “serious health risk”.
According to local reports, health authorities had sent a bus to the stadium, to escort the Argentina team away from the stadium.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni denied his team had broken any immigration protocols when speaking after the abandonment.
“It makes me very sad,” he sad.
“I’m not looking for any culprits. Whether or not something happened, it was not the time to make that intervention.
“It should have been a party for everyone, to enjoy the best players in the world. I would like the people of Argentina to understand that as a coach I have to defend my players.
“At no time were we notified that they could not play the match. We wanted to play the game, the players from Brazil too.”
Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentina Football Association, said: “What happened today is a very bad image. Four people entered to interrupt the game and CONMEBOL asked the players to go back to the dressing room.
“You cannot talk about any lie here because there is health legislation under which all South American tournaments are played. The health authorities of each country approved a protocol that we have been fully complying with.”
A government order dating from June 23 prohibits the entry into Brazilian territory of any foreign person from the United Kingdom, India or South Africa, to prevent the spread of variants of the coronavirus.
“Anvisa considers that this situation represents a serious health risk and recommends that the local health authorities (of Sao Paulo) order the immediate quarantine of the players, who are prohibited from taking part in any activity and from remaining on Brazilian territory,” the agency said in a statement earlier Sunday.
Anvisa said Brazil’s Federal Police had been notified so that “the necessary measures are taken immediately”.
Brazilian website Globoesporte said the Argentina Football Association (AFA) could request an exceptional authorisation from authorities in Sao Paulo to allow the players to take the field against Brazil.
The controversy comes after nine Brazilians based in the Premier League failed to travel to South America following objections from their clubs.
— with AFP
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
