In bizarre scenes, the South American World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina was halted last night after Brazilian health officials charged on to the pitch.
The chaos surrounded four UK-based Argentinian players, whom an organisation from Brazil’s health ministry, Anvisa, claim to have given false information in order to enter the country.
In Brazil, any non-Brazilian national who is entering the country from the UK must undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
However, Anvisa claimed that the four players in question – Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia of Aston Villa, and Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso of Tottenham Hotspur – failed to inform the authorities that they had been in England.
Brazil’s Federal Government, along with Conmebol and the CBF, gave the players an exemption to the rule, which would mean they could play without issue.
But Anvisa rejected the exemption. Instead, they went to the stadium to attempt to detain the players involved – three of which were named in the starting XI.
Five minutes into the game, Anvisa officials charged on to the pitch and the match was stopped.
The whole occasion then descended into chaos. In the end, after the match was officially abandoned, Brazil hosted a training session amongst their own players.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi, meanwhile, tried his best to find out what was going on.
Emerging onto the pitch in a photographer’s vest, he is reported to have asked Brazilian health officials: “We’ve been here for three days. Why are you doing this now?”
Prior to that, an incredible photo was captured by photographer Nelson Almeida. It shows Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate (and international opponent) Neymar, seemingly unable to quite understand what they had witnessed.
Messi can be seen laughing with his hand over his head. Neymar’s eyes are fixated on the ground at the same time.
What is the current situation?
Attention now turns to when the match can be replayed. However, that may take plenty of discussions.
In a statement on Twitter, Conmebol announced that the World Cup qualifiers are a FIFA competition, and they have the “exclusive power” to decide what happens next.
As for the Argentina players, they all reportedly boarded a plane out of Brazil in the early hours of this morning. That included the four UK-based players.
Romero and Lo Celso, though, can expect further ramifications upon their return to this country.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that Tottenham did not give them permission to leave for international duty. Both men are facing fines.
A quite incredible night of football – or everything bar football, as it turned out.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
