On Sunday, the world was prepared to watch Brazil and Argentina clash for the World Cup Qualifiers in a rematch of the 2021 Copa America final. However the game was suspended after Brazilian’s health authorities interrupted the game five minutes after the start. The reason was that four Argentine players were accused of lying when they entered the country and had a deportation order.
Emiliano Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, all Premier League’s players, are accused of giving false information regarding the Covid-19 protocols. According to Brazil’s health protocols, any person who is traveling from England has to do a 14-day quarantine after arriving in the country. However, FIFA and Conmebol protocols exclude this step, as soccer players only have to be tested and have a 72-hour quarantine with their teams.
After the incident, Conmebol explained that the next steps regarding this match will be determined by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee. However, it’s been heavily rumored that the most probable course of action will be that Argentina will receive the three points from this match. While everything unfolds, here, check out Brazil's next match.
When will Brazil play their next match?
The match between Brazil and Argentina corresponded to Matchday 6 of the Conmebol World Cup Qualifiers, which was supposed to be played in March but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
So, now Brazil has to play for Matchday 10 against Peru in São Lourenço da Mata at Arena Pernambuco on Thursday, September 9, 2021. For now, Brazil remains unbeaten and at the top of the table, but we’ll have to wait and see what FIFA decides to do about the incident.
For context, the European leagues tried to prevent players from traveling with their national teams to countries considered dangerous regarding Covid-19. However, FIFA and Conmebol allowed players to travel. Some finally didn’t go with their teams such as nine Brazilian players.
