World football's governing body FIFA on Monday said in a statement that it will analyse reports on the suspension of Sunday's World Cup qualifying match between Brazil and Argentina and decide on potential measures.
FIFA said it regretted the scenes preceding the suspension of the match. Brazilian health authorities accused a number of Argentine players from the English Premier League of violating Brazilian COVID-19 quarantine rules and suspended the match five minutes after kickoff.
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The match was dramatically suspended and then abandoned shortly after kick-off as controversy over COVID-19 protocols erupted.
Amid incredible scenes at Sao Paulo's Neo Quimica Arena, the match between the two giants of South American football came to a halt when a group of Brazilian public health officials came onto the pitch, triggering a melee involving team staff and players.
Argentina's players trudged off the pitch to the locker room as the furore arranged. Argentina captain Lionel Messi later re-emerged from the tunnel without his team shirt on as confusion swept around the stadium.
The stunning intervention came just hours after Brazil's health authorities said four players in Argentina's squad based in England should be placed in "immediate quarantine" for breaching Covid-19 protocols.
According to Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), Premier League players Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa) and Cristian Romero (Tottenham) provided "false information" upon their entry to Brazil.
Romero, Lo Celso and Martinez were all in the Argentina starting line-up that kicked off Sunday's game -- triggering the intervention onto the field of officials wearing ANVISA shirts.
The four Premier League players were accused of failing to disclose that they had spent time in the United Kingdom in the 14 days prior to their arrival.
With inpits from AFP
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