Match between Brazil and Argentina is suspended, say Conmebol and FIFA

(CNN) – The South American qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 World Cup between Brazil and Argentina was suspended this Sunday minutes after its start, this after Brazilian health officials entered the field and escorted several Argentine footballers.

On Twitter, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) reported that the measure had been given “by decision of the referee.”

By decision of the match referee, the match organized by FIFA between Brazil and Argentina for the World Cup Qualifiers is suspended.

– CONMEBOL.com (@CONMEBOL) September 5, 2021

In another tweet, Conmebol added: “The referee and the match commissioner will submit a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the steps to follow. These procedures strictly adhere to current regulations.”

For its part, FIFA confirmed on its Twitter account the suspension of the match and that more details would be given later.

“FIFA can confirm that, following a decision by the match referee, the qualifying match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Argentina has been suspended. Further details will be released in due course,” he said in the tweet. .

FIFA can confirm that following a decision by the match officials, the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying match Brazil vs. Argentina has been suspended. Further details will follow in due course.

– FIFA Media (@fifamedia) September 5, 2021

Four Argentine players accused of covid-19 protocols

The Brazilian Health Regulation Agency (Anvisa) requested the support of the country’s Federal Police to prevent four Argentine players from participating in the World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Brazil.

Health authorities entered the field during the first minutes of the match and suspended the match after Anvisa said that the four players made false statements upon arrival in Brazil, omitting that they had been in the United Kingdom in the last 14 days.

According to the Brazilian regulations against covid-19, any passenger who has visited the United Kingdom 14 days before arrival cannot enter the country.

“Anvisa considers that this is a situation of serious health risk, so it advises the local authorities to determine the immediate quarantine of the players, who are prohibited from participating in any activity and must be prevented from remaining in Brazilian territory “.

According to CNN Brasil, a CNN affiliate, Anvisa requested the deportation of the following players: Emiliano Martínez, Emiliano Buendía, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero.

Credit: Alexandre Schneider / Getty Images

This says the AFA

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) told CNN Brazil: “We have nothing to say. Everything is in order according to the regulations of Conmebol (the governing body of South American football). Subject concluded.”

The president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, issued a release in which he states: “What happened today is unfortunate for football, it is a very bad image. Four people entered to interrupt the game to make a notification and Conmebol asked the players to go to the changing room. speak of no lie because there is a sanitary legislation under which all South American tournaments are played. The sanitary authorities of each country approved a protocol that we have been complying to the maximum “.

The Argentine national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, said that the events that occurred make him “very sad” and that both teams wanted to play the game.

“I come so that our country finds out what has happened,” said Scaloni in a release. “I’m not looking for anyone to blame. If something happened or did not happen, 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 how technical director I have to defend my players. At no time were we notified that they could not play the game. We wanted to play the game, the Brazilian footballers too. “

With information from Marcelo Medeiros, from CNN *