09/05/2021 10:37 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 09/05/2021 10:51 PM
Soccer was only played for less than five minutes. Later,
everything was involved in a major scandal
due to the suspension of Brazil - Argentina when men from the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa)
invaded the field in full meeting to carry out the deportation
of the four Argentine footballers who, according to this entity, they violated health regulations because they came from a "red zone" due to the circulation of the delta variant of coronavirus like England.
Arguments, struggles, tension, confusion.
What was going to be a soccer party ended up in a real piece of paper that could have been resolved in another way, but which was unusually exposed to everyone's sight.
And now it
will be FIFA who will have to decide what will happen
to the three points that were left without an owner.
What really happened?
They were four minutes and forty seconds on the lawn of the Neo Química Arena Stadium in San Pablo.
The Argentine team drew goalless against Brazil with the same formation that played on July 10 at the Maracana,
the day they won the Copa América
.
Cristian Romero
made a quite clean ball to
Neymar
in the
Argentine countryside and
crack
Brazilian reacted
crossing hard to Leandro Paredes
, who suddenly forgot that they were colleagues and friends in the Paris Saint-Germain and he went to smoke.
The Venezuelan referee, Jesús Valenzuela, charged the infraction and separated the players.
But the game was never going to resume ...
Suddenly, absolute confusion.
Marcos Acuña and Nicolás Otamendi began to slap and shove
with a person in jeans and a blue shirt, with some white papers folded in the back pocket of his pants, that nobody knew who he was.
Lionel Scaloni
shot off the bench and onto the field to reassure his boys.
Otamendi and Acuña argue with an official.
Photo REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
All, Argentines and Brazilians, ran towards that sector and the tumult was armed.
The judge, who also did not understand what was happening, also got in.
Minutes later, the South American classic for the Qualifiers heading to the Qatar 2022 World Cup
was suspended due to "force majeure".
It was all about a
huge international role
that had begun a day before and that detonated in an embarrassing way
before the eyes of the world
. Members of Anvisa were those who entered the field by force and to the surprise of Conmebol itself to ask to proceed with the deportation of
Emiliano Martínez, Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso (they were starters) and Emiliano Buendía
(he was left out of the bank) with the argument
that none of the four declared when entering the country their passage through the United Kingdom
-they play in the Premier League of England-, one of the areas considered at risk by the Brazilian state together with Northern Ireland, India and South Africa.
Those who have passed through some of these countries
in the last 14 days must isolate themselves for the same period of time
after entering Brazil.
The Argentine delegation had set foot at Guarulhos airport last Friday from Caracas - where it arrived on Monday, August 30 - on a charter flight, after beating Venezuela on Thursday.
At that time they went through migrations normally
.
But a day later, on Saturday, everything got muddy.
The hours before
From Anvisa they detected this
supposed irregularity
of the Albiceleste players.
They went to the Marriott Hotel
in the afternoon, when the squad had already left for the last rehearsal before the game,
to report on the situation and warn that these four players should be isolated and could not play against Brazil.
They sought to verify the health documentation.
There, various
versions fueled by suspicions
began to circulate.
Was it all a Brazilian maneuver because their nine players quoted who play in the Premier League had not been able to go?
Or was there some administrative oversight by the AFA?
Messi and Neymar dialogue with the authorities.
AP Photo / Andre Penner
The directors of the Argentine Soccer Association, with its president Claudio Tapia at the head, communicated with Conmebol in this scenario and from the South American entity they provided tranquility by informing that the Scaloni Selection
was endorsed by the health bubble protocol
that all Mercosur member associations had accepted, after
dialogue with the health authorities of each country.
This exempts from making the isolations corresponding to the members of the delegations, as long as they do not break the bubble. This is how the Copa América was played and this is how the Libertadores and South American Cups are played. The same for the European Qualifiers since everything has the control of FIFA, an institution that maintains a bid with the leagues of England, Spain, Italy and Portugal for opposing the release of their players.
With the support of Conmebol, Scaloni and his team remained calm.
But early on Sunday, Anvisa returned to the load
with a statement in which it reported that Martínez, Romero, Lo Celso and Buendía had presented “false information” in an official form: “When verifying that the information provided by travelers it was false, Anvisa clarifies that it has already communicated the fact to the Federal Police, so that measures are taken immediately
within the scope of the police authority
”.
Police officers were present at the door of the Argentine concentration hours before the duel. However,
once again the OK for Conmebol arrived
and the squad, with Messi at the helm, got on the bus without problems and went to the stadium where he changed, made the warm-up and went out to the field to play.
During that time, Anvisa remained in its unbreakable position, while the Brazilian Football Confederation and Conmebol continued to
try to modify the determination to appear at the stadium
to carry out their mission.
They say that there was an agreement with the police forces
to proceed to deport the players
targeted after the final whistle, but from Anvisa they did not want to wait and advanced on their own.
"Were you waiting for it to be played?"
"We have been here for three days, were you waiting for the game to be played to come?" An obfuscated Messi shot in the middle of a talk with Neymar, Brazilian DT
Tite
, Scaloni and a security person.
"Why didn't they go to the hotel?" Asked Scaloni, indignant.
Minutes later, the coach told TyC Sports: “
At no time were we notified that they could not play the game.
As a manager I have to defend my players ”.
Lionel Messi does not understand what happens in the Corinthians stadium.
Photo NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP
Tapia, for his part, said: "
There is no lie here
because there is health legislation under which all South American tournaments are played and the health authorities of each country approved the protocol that we have been complying with."
The National Team, by order of the Conmebol delegate, got into the dressing room quickly and left
a couple of hours later
to go directly to the airport, intervention by Ambassador Daniel Scioli, and return to the country waiting to play with Bolivia this Thursday in the Monumental.
Meanwhile, the referee and Conmebol raised the corresponding report to FIFA that speaks of
suspension for invasion of "unauthorized persons
.
"
From the Brazilian Confederation
they dissociated themselves from the fact and pointed to Anvisa.
The AFA did the same knowing that it
has the support of Conmebol
.
Now, this global scandal will be resolved in Switzerland, where they could give the points to the National Team.
Look also
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