The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) announced in an official statement its position on the scandal of stopping the Brazil-Argentina meeting in comic circumstances minutes after its launch, stressing that the final decision rests with FIFA, at a time when the president of the Brazilian Confederation agreed with the coach of Argentina and Lionel Messi, in his comment on the farce.
"The referee and the match observer will submit a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FIFA) to take the necessary measures," CONMEBOL said, as FIFA is responsible for the World Cup qualifiers.
The match between Brazil and Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scheduled in Qatar, was stopped comically, representing a spherical scandal that did not fit the size of the match, which is called the “Classico Earth” after the Brazilian health authorities objected to the participation of 3 players from Argentina, accusing them of violating quarantine rules.
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The Brazilian Ministry of Health calls for the Argentine national team players coming from England to be placed in quarantine
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
Argentine players left the Corinthians stadium after officials came to the stadium to stop the match.
The players went to the dressing rooms, although the coaches of the two teams, in addition to Messi, the captain of Argentina and some Brazilian players, gathered on one side of the stadium moments later to discuss the matter.
beIN SPORTS reporter Patricia Lopez: The match was stopped, and the Brazilian national team is participating in a training session on the field.
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
Messi's anger
Messi explained his anger and commented on the events, saying, "Why did they allow the match to start and then stop it after 5 minutes? We have been here at the stadium for an hour and they should have informed us before that."
The full story of the Argentine national team's withdrawal from its match against Brazil
#Qualifiers_World_Cup_2022 #Qatar_2022 #Brazil_Argentina #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/7dwaXWu1ps
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
Messi returned to the dressing rooms, and at five in the evening, about an hour after the start of the confrontation, the match was officially suspended.
The friendship of Dani Alves and Messi almost led to an agreement on the completion of the match between Brazil and Argentina
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
The origin of the crisis
The incident occurred hours after the Brazilian health authorities decided to immediately isolate 4 players from Argentina and not participate in the match, but 3 of them appeared in the squad.
The official list of the two teams - published by the South American Confederation - revealed the participation of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, central defender, and Giovanni Lo Celso in the middle.
🤝Legends meet… who will win?🤔#World_Cup_Qualifiers_2022 #Qatar_2022 #Messi #Neymar #Brazil_Argentina #Qatar2022 #Neymar #Messi pic.twitter.com/rBSs0HipRZ
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
And the three are among 4 players who play in the English Premier League.
Invisa, Brazil's health regulator, accused the four players of violating quarantine rules and opened an investigation.
According to regulations published by Invisa, visitors who have been in the UK in the 14 days preceding their entry into Brazil must undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
The health authorities said earlier in a statement, "Invisa considers this situation a serious health threat, and therefore asked the local health authorities to immediately place the mentioned players in quarantine and prevent them from participating in any activity or staying on Brazilian territory."
However, it appears that the four players, including Buendia, did not face any procedures and were allowed to move with the Argentina national team from the residence hotel to the Corinthians stadium.
Buendia and Martinez play with Aston Villa, while Lo Celso and Romero play with Tottenham.
The Argentina squad traveled to Brazil on Friday, one day after their 3-1 victory over Venezuela in Caracas in the World Cup qualifiers.
beIN SPORTS correspondent Ibrahim Khader brings to us the latest events and developments regarding the suspended Brazil-Argentina match# World Cup Qualifiers 2022 # Qatar_2022 # Brazil_Argentina #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/MiZToTBAxW
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) September 5, 2021
President of the Brazilian Confederation and Messi
The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation was angered by the farcical scenes that the world watched today.
Eddinaldo Rodriguez criticized Invisa, saying officials told him that Argentine players who violated quarantine rules would be deported after the match.
He agreed with Messi's opinion, saying, "I apologize to all the football fans who wished to watch the match on television. With all due respect to the Invisa Foundation, they could have solved the problem early before the match started."
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni agreed with them, and said, "I feel very sad. I don't condemn anyone but this should not have happened. It was not the time to do it. We wanted to enjoy watching a match between the two best teams in the world but it ended like this ".
"It is my duty as a coach to defend my players. If someone comes and says we want to arrest this man or deport this I will not allow it because at no time have we been informed that we cannot play," he added.