Health 'madness' stops Brazil-Argentina mid-match

3 years ago 351

Argentina's World Cup qualifier astatine Brazil was interrupted aft conscionable 7 minutes this greeting (AEST) successful a chaotic quality implicit coronavirus concerns, with the crippled aboriginal suspended by the referee.

Just aft the commencement of a matchup of South American powers featuring Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Neymar, Brazilian wellness officials came onto the transportation implicit 3 Argentina players whom they felt should not beryllium playing due to the fact that they allegedly did not uncover connected arriving successful Sao Paulo connected Friday that they had precocious been successful England.

Argentina responded by walking disconnected the tract astatine NeoQuimica Arena successful Sao Paulo.

Argentina tweeted that the game, which was astatine 0-0, would not resume. South American shot assemblage CONMEBOL said the lucifer had been suspended. FIFA aboriginal confirmed the crippled had been suspended, and that it volition determine what to bash with it now.

Antonio Barra Torres, the president of Brazil's wellness agency, Anvisa, said 4 Argentina players volition beryllium fined and deported for allegedly not pursuing Brazil's COVID-19 protocols.

The 4 — each players from the English Premier League — had been ordered to quarantine by Brazil's wellness bureau up of the match. Despite that order, 3 of the 4 started for Argentina.

Aston Villa players Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia, and Tottenham duo Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, came to play for Argentina contempt the Premier League not wanting players to beryllium released for planetary work owed to the request to quarantine for 10 days successful a edifice connected their return. Now they person been caught up successful Brazilian quarantine restrictions.

Brazil's wellness bureau said each 4 allegedly told migration officers they hadn't successful the past 14 days been to the United Kingdom oregon anyplace other that Brazil puts connected its ain reddish database for COVID-19 risks. Those who person look a 14-day quarantine successful Brazil.

Martinez, Romero and Lo Celso started the match. Buendia was not included successful the squad.

Brazil called 9 Premier League players for the 3 rounds of World Cup qualifiers successful September, including 5 starters, but nary of them came — arsenic advised by their clubs.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said helium and his players were bittersweet by the crook of events, and that some teams would person liked to play the game. He and his squad are yet to permission the stadium much than 2 hours aft the lucifer was archetypal interrupted.

"A lucifer betwixt immoderate of the champion successful the satellite ends similar this. I would similar radical successful Argentina to recognize that arsenic a manager I person to instrumentality attraction of my players. If radical travel and accidental they person to deport them, I volition not allow," Scaloni told transmission TyC Sports. "We wanted to play the match, truthful did the Brazilians."

Brazil's shot confederation interim president Ednaldo Rodrigues said helium recovered the determination of the wellness bureau to beryllium "strange."

"At nary infinitesimal was the Brazilian shot confederation successful favour of this," helium told TV Globo.

Brazil players stayed connected the tract aft Argentina left, and started doing grooming exercises. Federal constabulary were extracurricular the stadium to escort the Argentina squad.

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