Brazil-Argentina WC qly suspended; players accused of Covid-protocol breach

Brazils home World Cup qualifier against Argentina was suspended on Sunday after four players from the visiting team were accused of breaching Covid19 protocolsOfficials from Brazilian health regulator Anvisa walked onto the Corinthians Arena pitch seven minutes after kickoff to order the game be haltedAccording to the government agency Premier League players Emiliano Martinez Giovani Lo Celso Cristian Romero and Emiliano Buendia failed to comply with entry regulations for travellersRules introduced to curb the spread of Covid19 prohibit nonBrazilians from entering the country if they have passed through the United Kingdom South Africa Northern Ireland and India in the past 14 daysIn a statement issued hours before the match Anvisa accused the players of providing false information on immigration forms and ordered them to selfisolate immediately Xinhua reportedAnvisa considers the situation a serious health risk and therefore advised the local health authorities to determine the immediate quarantine of players who are prevented from participating in any activity and should not remain in Brazilian territory the agency saidMartinez Lo Celso and Romero were on the pitch when the match was interrupted while Buendia was watching from the stands having missed a place in Argentinas match day squadPlayers and coaches from both teams including Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Brazil star Neymar spoke at length with the Anvisa officials after play was stoppedMessi was heard asking why the fixture was allowed to start if officials already knew of the protocol breachBy then most of his teammates were already in the locker rooms and the game was officially suspended almost an hour after the interruption Brazils players remained on the pitch throughout and later took part in an impromptu training sessionIt was not immediately clear if the qualifier would be rescheduledThe referee and the match official will take a report to the FIFA disciplinary committee and they will decide what steps to take the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL said in a statementArgentina coach Lionel Scaloni echoed Messi sentiments questioning why officials had decided to wait until the game started to take action Argentina arrived in Brazil on FridayIt makes me very sad Im not looking for any culprits Irrespective of whether or not there was any wrongdoing it was not the time to make that intervention Scaloni saidIt should have been a match to be enjoyed by everyone a chance to see the best players in the world I would like the people of Argentina to understand that as a coach I have to defend my playersAt no time were we notified that they could not play the match We wanted to play the game the players from Brazil tooClaudio Tapia the president of the Argentinian Football Association refuted suggestions the Albiceleste had knowingly contravened Brazils health guidelinesYou cant talk about anybody lying because there is a health legislation under which all South American football tournaments are played he told reportersThe health authorities of each country approved a protocol that we have been closely complying with What happened today is regrettable for footballAlso Read Happy teachers day Tokyo Paralympians Krishna Nagar Suhas Yathiraj gift medals to coachThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever