(Updates with departure from Argentina from Brazilian territory; changes wording)
BUENOS AIRES, Sep 5 (Reuters) – Argentina’s soccer team left Brazil four and a half hours on Sunday after the suspension of its game against the locals for the South American tie for the 2022 World Cup, which came after a surprise interruption to the minute five by the health authorities in Sao Paulo.
“We are going home. Always united,” said the Argentine team through its official Twitter account, along with a photograph of several footballers inside the plane.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) indicated earlier in a statement that the delegation had complied with “all current sanitary protocols regulated by Conmebol.”
The entity that governs soccer in South America had explained earlier that the suspension of the match was “by decision of the referee” and added that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee will determine the steps to be followed and that the procedures “strictly adhere to the regulations. current “.
The Brazilian health authorities entered the field of play a few minutes after the start of the clash, after an alleged violation of the quarantine regulations by COVID-19 of some footballers of the “Albiceleste” team who play in the English league.
“Why did they start it and finish it after five minutes? For everyone to see?” Soccer star Lionel Messi told health authorities on the field of play amid widespread confusion. “We were at the stadium an hour ago, they could have warned.”
In the squad of the South American football classic, coach Lionel Scaloni included three players from England: Emiliano Martínez, from Aston Villa, and Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, from Tottenham Hotspur.
According to the rules published by the Brazilian health regulatory body, Anvisa, visitors who have been in the United Kingdom in the 14 days prior to entering Brazil must remain in quarantine for 14 days after arrival.
Hours before the game, Anvisa had requested the isolation of Argentine footballers who play in the English league, which led to the intervention of Conmebol and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
“The four Argentine players received orders to remain isolated to be deported. But it was not respected. They went to the stadium, they entered the field, the sequence is one of disobedience,” Antonio Barra Torres, Anvisa director, told local television.
INDIGNATION
The president of the CBF was “outraged” by the scenes, described as “scandal”, “embarrassment” and “shame” by the press worldwide.
Ednaldo Rodrigues criticized Anvisa and said officials told him that the four Argentines could have been deported after the match.
“I am sorry for all the fans who wanted to see the game on TV,” he told the Brazilian network Sportv. “With all due respect to Anvisa, they could have solved this earlier and not wait for the game to start.”
The scenes experienced in Sao Paulo left many doubts about what will happen to the match and whether FIFA will make a decision regarding the distribution of points or whether it will decide to resume the match.
After the suspension, the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio Tapia, defended the action of the delegation and said that the decision not to play was given by the entry of the personnel of the Anvisa authorities, cataloged as “external” to the encounter.
“Here you cannot talk about any lie because there is health legislation under which all South American tournaments are played. The health authorities of each country approved a protocol that we have been complying with to the fullest,” said Tapia. “What happened today is unfortunate for football, it is a very bad image.”
In the next round, Brazil -which leads the tie with 21 points- will host Peru in the city of Recife, while Argentina -second with 15 units- will host Bolivia at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. (Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo, additional reporting by Andrew Downie; Edited by Ricardo Figueroa and Javier Leira)