Both the Argentina players were caught manhandling a health official from Anvisa who was part of a team to detain Argentine players prior to Brazil vs Argentina
As the world got ready to watch Argentina and Brazil take each other on for the first time since the Copa America final, unprecedented scenes ended up halting the showdown from getting underway.
Just as both the teams were getting ready to step out, representatives from the Brazilian health department, Anvisa ended up flocking the pitch. The officials had arrived to detain the Premier League four man unit of Giovani Lo Celso, Emi Buendia, Emiliano Martinez and Cristian Romero.
It was down to all four lying about their whereabouts prior to landing in Brazil from Venezuela. The four who had played in the Premier League prior to stepping out in Brazil had falsified reports of being in the UK with none declaring about their sojourn in the country.
Nicolas Otamendi And Macros Acuna Get Physical With Health Official Prior To Brazil vs Argentina
It saw them violate the COVID-19 norms inducted by the Brazilian government at the moment in a bid to tackle the ever growing menace of the Delta variant. And in a bid to detain them and deport them from Brazil, the health officials ended up storming the venue.
It lead to ugly visuals with Argentina’s Nicolas Otamendi and Marcos Acuna seen manhandling a health official who decided to retaliate. Things looked set to turn sour before the match referees and players intervened to break things up.
2022 #WorldCupQualifiers #Brazil vs. #Argentina has been suspended after #Brazilian health officials walked on the pitch to confront the four #Argentine #PremierLeague players who broke #Brazilian rules after traveling from the #UK in the last 14 days & not #quarantining. @VRG_7 pic.twitter.com/VbZNP805Lv
— Vibhor Ravi Gupta (@VRG_7) September 5, 2021
The match was eventually abandoned with the visiting side refusing to step back onto the pitch with FIFA set to decide the further course of action.
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