Qatar 22 qualifiers, Brazil-Argentina interrupted after 5 ‘by the police

Incredible. Brazil and Argentina play only 5 ‘in the match for the world qualifiers in Qatar 2022. Then something never seen before happens: the Brazilian police invade the field to remove three players who should be in quarantine due to Covid-19. Argentina leaves the pitch and does not agree to return without them. The Brazilian players remain on the pitch, then the game is suspended. And it does not resume.

and now?

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What could happen? Fifa will decide it, as Conmebol clearly stated. “By decision of the referee of the match, the match between Brazil and Argentina is suspended – this is the position that the South American federation has made known on social networks -. The referee and match commissioner will send a report to FIFA, which will determine the decisions to be made. This is a procedure that follows the rules in force to the letter. The World Cup preliminaries are a competition held under the aegis of Fifa. All decisions on organization and the like are the exclusive competence of FIFA “.

Brazil waited for the end of the first half before leaving the field, but the Argentines can argue that there was a case of “force majeure”. The website of the Argentine newspaper Clarín also argues that Brazil should lose for having prevented the game from taking place. However, the Brazilian Football Confederation argues that the Brazilian Health Surveillance could have resolved everything without reaching this point. At the America’s Cup, held in Brazil recently, there were no such problems because everything had been previously agreed with the local authorities.

The South American qualification tournaments are played thanks to an agreement between all the Conmebol federations and ratified by the respective countries that allows the players to stay 72 hours in the country in which they are played, regardless of their origin, and to be able to take the field on agreement to remain in isolation at the hotel all the time and to be tested before the match. “There are health rules following which all South American tournaments are played, rules approved by the health authorities of all participating countries. We followed them, ”said Carlos Tapia, president of the Argentine football federation.

confusion

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Argentina begins the game with four players who, according to the Brazilian authorities, should not be there: goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, midfielder Lo Celso, defender Romero, winger Buendía. They all play in the Premier League, and anyone who has been in England 14 days before entering Brazil will have a quarantine period. Martinez, Lo Celso and Romero are the owners, Buendía is not even on the bench but is at the Corinthians stadium, where the match begins. The health authorities even showed up at the Argentina hotel before the match to deport the four. But they didn’t succeed. Then local police officers, following the ordinance of the Brazilian health surveillance, invaded the field: shoving with the Argentine players, the idea was to kick out the 3 who were not supposed to be there.

deported

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Antônio Barra Torres, director-president of the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency, explained to TV Globo: “I am not aware of the sports law, I cannot give an opinion on it. What I know about the health aspect is that these four players They must be deported from Brazil. They will be fined for a series of infractions. They have not respected the isolation, they have not answered honestly to the forms upon entering the country, and they have played. With more than 500,000 deaths (actually almost 600,000 , ed.), in the midst of the pandemic, orders are disregarded for the will of I don’t know who. “According to Torres, the four Argentines could not have left the hotel. Torres recalls that the same rule also applies to those who enter Brazil from South Africa or India: “The players were ordered to stay in the hotel, isolated: they didn’t. They went to the stadium, they entered the field, they didn’t respect what we had ordered them “.

in the field

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On the pitch in the first 5 minutes there were the Juventus players Danilo and Alex Sandro with Brazil and the Inter Milan Lautaro Martinez with Argentina. Despite the confusion, players and staff of the two national teams do not quarrel. Indeed, they embrace, swap shirts. Brazil takes advantage of the opportunity to train. Peru awaits him on Thursday, and Tite’s team leads the South American group with full points, 21 points in seven games. This challenge was a recovery of the seventh day, which had not taken place in March due to a pandemic: if the victory is not awarded at the table, it will be necessary to establish when it must be recovered.