They were pitch intruders with a good reason, they claimed, as they confronted players only seven minutes into Brazil’s World Cup qualifier with Argentina.
While Argentina great Lionel Messi and Brazil star Neymar watched on, the qualifier was halted on Sunday and chaos ensued.
Four Argentina players from English Premier League clubs were accused by agents of Brazil’s health agency, Anvisa, of breaching coronavirus rules by not declaring on arrival in Brazil they had been in England in the previous 14 days.
But why did it take Anvisa until Sunday to directly intervene, given how high profile the players are and how known their movements were?
The journey: From Tottenham and Aston Villa to South America
There was considerable focus on the trips from England even before Aston Villa players Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia, and Tottenham duo Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero flew to South America.
The initial spotlight was on England’s requirements for anyone returning from South America to enter mandatory hotel quarantine for 10 days on their return.
Premier League clubs collectively agreed that no one would travel to CONMEBOL’s (South America’s governing body for football) games, defying an order from FIFA that both regulates world football — giving it powers to enforce players are released for their countries — and organises the World Cups that fund the governing body.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plea for the players to be exempt from quarantine after travelling to countries on England’s red list was rejected by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
But Villa eventually allowed its players to go to South America on the proviso that they play in only two of the three games. That was to reduce the time they would miss with their Villa employer.
“We think this plan respects the long-established call-up rules and balances the importance which top players place on representing their countries in important matches with the best interests of Aston Villa,” the club said.
But Tottenham never said anything about authorising the trip for Lo Celso and Romero.
The arrival: Their presence was well-known
The Argentina squad arrived in Brazil on Friday morning from Caracas, where the team beat Venezuela 3-1 the night before. Now the focus is on whether — as Brazil’s health agency claims — the quartet did not tell immigration officers they had been in Britain in the previous 14 days. Britain is on Brazil’s red list due to the high number of COVID-19 cases.
Their presence in the squad was well-known as was the fact they’d played in the Premier League the previous weekend. Anvisa first informed Argentine officials on Saturday that the players had apparently provided false information on their arrival in Brazil.
Rather than deporting the players as Anvisa said was in their powers, quarantine was recommended.
Despite media coverage questioning how the players were free to play, the game started with Lo Celso and Romero and Martinez in action. The game lasted only seven minutes before Anvisa officials walked on the pitch to remove the four players in question.
Just how much did FIFA’s match delegate know about the quarantine dispute with the Brazilian authorities and could there have been an intervention to stop the players in dispute featuring in the game? Now FIFA’s disciplinary committee will analyse the reports from the match delegate and referee.
Brazil remained on the pitch under the instructions of the coach and the team held a training session. Argentina went back to its locker room and stayed there for hours until heading straight to the airport.
The suspended game: Barely five minutes in
The score was 0-0 when the match was stopped. CONMEMBOL says it was suspended, rather than abandoned. But it’s clear the game won’t be resumed this week — with further games on Thursday night for the teams. If Argentina is found to be at fault, Brazil will likely be awarded a 3-0 victory by default, helping its bid to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
“The match could have continued, the interruption was a decision by sports executives,” Anvisa director Alex Campos said. “Argentina tried to put pressure on Brazilian authorities and chose to leave if they didn’t have those players.”
The police: Debate over who should have applied for the waivers
Brazilian federal police said on Monday they are investigating the four players for allegedly providing false information upon arrival in São Paulo. They were allowed to return to Buenos Aires on Sunday night after giving written statements.
The Brazilian Chief of Staff office said in a statement it had not received requests for exceptional waivers from Argentine football officials. One conflicting issue is who should have applied for the waivers — the hosts or the visitors.
