Mueez Ajao
– Argentina captain Lionel Messi has sent words to fans even as he said he was dismayed by the Brazilian health authorities’ decision to stop Sunday’s World Cup qualifier after the match had started.
– Just five minutes after kickoff at Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, officials from the health authorities entered the pitch to announce the game could not continue because of a breach of the country’s quarantine protocols by four of Argentina’s Premier League based-players.
– “Listen to me, we’ve been here [in Brazil] for three days,” Messi said on the pitch, with his comments heard on television. “Were they waiting for the game to start to come here? Why didn’t they warn us before?”
– Brazil’s health regulator, Anvisa, claimed that Argentina internationals Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Emiliano Buendia twice breached health protocols.
– Lo Celso, Romero and Martinez were included in Argentina’s starting lineup. Under Brazilian rules, visitors from the UK entering the country must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
– In a statement, Anvisa accused the players of providing “false” information on their health forms and considered their presence in Brazil “a serious health risk” and advised for the immediate quarantine of those players.
– Brazil’s health regulator, Anvisa, claimed that Argentina internationals Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Emiliano Buendia twice breached health protocols.
– Lo Celso, Romero and Martinez were included in Argentina’s starting lineup. Under Brazilian rules, visitors from the UK entering the country must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
– In a statement, Anvisa accused the players of providing “false” information on their health forms and considered their presence in Brazil “a serious health risk” and advised for the immediate quarantine of those players.
– “Why did they start the game and stop it after five minutes?” Messi said in comments heard on television. “We’ve been here at the stadium for an hour, they could have told us.”
– “I feel sorry for all the sports fans who wanted to watch the game on television,” he told Brazil’s Sportv. “With all due respect to Anvisa, they could have resolved this earlier and not waited for the game to start.”
