Buenos Aires : The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has expressed dismay over the suspension of the Argentina-Brazil match in Sao Paulo shortly after it kicked-off on Sunday.
The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, Anvisa, said that the Argentine team was informed in advance about coronavirus sanitary regulations, but four players (Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Emiliano Buendiae), who had recently traveled to the UK, failed to comply with the required quarantine measures.
The violation led to the Sunday qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be suspended. FIFA confirmed the suspension via Twitter, saying that it would provide further details later. Meanwhile, the Argentine team said on Twitter that it was going home and posted a photo of the players on board a plane.
“The Argentine Soccer Association expresses its deep discomfort at the suspension of the meeting between the Argentine National Team and the Brazilian National Team in Sao Paulo,” AFA said in a Sunday statement, adding that it was “surprised by the actions of Anvisa once the game has started.”
AFA said that the Argentine team had complied with all sanitary protocols regulated by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
G1 reported on Sunday that Brazilian police were not going to investigate the four Argentine players who had violated sanitary regulations.
