RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s National Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) announced that four Argentine players had lied about their origins to enter the country, bypassing quarantine, and should be deported.
On Sunday morning, Anvisa had said in a statement that four of the Argentine players had “disregarded entry regulations for travelers on Brazilian soil,” having been in the United Kingdom, where they play in the Premier League, for the past 14 days.
Under Brazilian regulations, they should have been quarantined upon arrival in Brazil, as are travelers from South Africa, Northern Ireland, and India. Since they failed to do so, Anvisa called the Federal Police, saying these athletes “are prevented from participating in any activity and are not allowed to be on Brazilian territory.”
According to unofficial information, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) brokered an agreement with the Brazilian government to allow the match to take place. The starting Argentine team entered the field at 4 PM with three of the four players identified by Anvisa – one was on the bench – and was sure that the Brazilian authorities were satisfied with the result.
After five minutes, Anvisa agents entered the pitch and harassed the Argentines until the game was stopped. The Argentine team left the field while the Brazilian team stayed on the field to avoid the tournament officials deeming the match abandoned.
About an hour after the match was suspended, CONMEBOL issued a statement saying that the FIFA-organized World Cup qualifying match between Brazil and Argentina was interrupted by the referee’s decision.
“The referee and the match committee will send a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the next steps. These procedures are in strict accordance with local regulations,” the circular added. “The World Cup qualifiers are a FIFA competition. All decisions regarding their organization and development fall within the exclusive competence of this institution,” CONMEBOL’s statement concluded.
In a statement, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) “deeply regretted the events that led to the suspension of the match. The federation guarantees to defend “the implementation of the strictest health protocols” and says to comply with them, then stressing that it was “shocking that the action of the National Health Regulator took place when the game had already started since Anvisa could have carried out its activity in a much more appropriate way in different moments and days before the game.
CBF wants to emphasize that it “did not interfere in any aspect of the health protocol established by the Brazilian authorities for the entry of people into the country” and is awaiting the decision of CONMEBOL and FIFA on the match.
“Everyone had a scare. Regrettably, an episode of this kind in a match between Brazil and Argentina arouses the interest of the whole world. In an interview with Sportv television, acting CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues expressed regret over the incident.
According to him, the CBF was “at no time” involved in the development of the match. “As far as we know, Anvisa was already monitoring [the] Argentine team three days ago,” he said, adding that the action was “strange because Anvisa acted only after the match began.”
The president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, said that “there can be no talk of lies here because there is a health law that applies to all South American tournaments.”
“The health authorities of each country have approved a protocol that we have followed to the maximum,” he said in a statement posted on the Argentine national team’s Twitter profile. “What happened today is regrettable for soccer, it is a horrible image. Four people came in to stop the game and make a report, and CONMEBOL asked the players to go to the locker room.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he hoped they would find out what actually happened. “This is unfortunate. I’m not looking for blame. If something happened or didn’t happen, it wasn’t the right time to intervene,” he complained. “It should be a celebration for everyone to enjoy the best players in the world. I want the Argentine people to understand that as a coach, I have to defend my players.” According to Scaloni, “At no point were we warned that [the four players] could not play. We wanted to play, and so did the Brazilian soccer players,” he said.
The match was attended by only 1,500 spectators, consisting of guests from the CBF, the Football Federation of São Paulo (FPF), and CONMEBOL.
In sporting terms, it was not as important as the final of the last Copa América, which Argentina won on its home ground. Brazil and Argentina are comfortably in first and second place, respectively, in the qualifying standings for South America and should have no trouble qualifying for the next World Cup.
Much more important are the political implications for Brazil’s health authorities, which makes the early outcome of this match historic.