The head of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), Antonio Barra Torres, and the director of Ports, Airports and Borders, Alex Machado, say the agency not only intervened when the match between Brazil and Argentina had already begun. According to the authorities, the Argentine delegation had defrauded the health control agents and the Federal Police until moments before the start of the match on Sunday (5/9), at the Arena Corinthians, in São Paulo.
According to the regulator, the players had given false information upon entering Brazilian territory. When filling out the Traveler’s Health Declaration, a document required to enter the country, players Emiliano Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, Giovanni Lo Celso and Christian Romero omitted that they had passed through the United Kingdom (the country in which they play). A decree issued in June this year by the Department of Health specifies that foreigners from the UK must comply with a 14-day precautionary quarantine for Covid, in order to enter Brazil.
“We have come to this point because everything that Anvisa directed, from the very first moment, has not materialized. They [argentinos] They were instructed to remain in isolation and await deportation. But it did not come true. They go to the stadium, they enter the field, and there is a series of non-compliance,” said Anvisa CEO, Antonio Barra Torres, in an interview with TV Globo.
Only later, when checking the players’ passports, will the agency find out that they lied in the advertisement. to me capital CitiesAlex Machado, director of Ports, Airports and Borders – an agency of Anvisa – said that although the result was only reached at 5 p.m. on Saturday (4/9), Anvisa had already requested state health monitoring that recommended the athletes be isolated, because There is already a lack of confidence.
“Even when we checked the ad, we didn’t know it was incorrect, because they were coming from Caracas, Venezuela. But then, in the morning [de sábado]Our servers took care of it. We went for an investigation, but there are thousands of health data for travelers, right? She drew attention because someone there called. But we did not have access to passports at that time,” Machado explained capital Cities.
Machado added that Sao Paulo’s health watchdog was notified on Saturday as well. At the 5:00 p.m. meeting [de sábado], it was realized that, in fact, the passports said that the information we initially considered supposedly false was really wrong. From there we define quarantine. It was announced that local monitoring had already established, in the morning, quarantine.
The agency director says the Argentine delegation has made Anfisa’s work difficult at all times. “We had trouble getting to the changing rooms. We went and it closed. Anyway, [eles estavam] Obstructing and restricting the agency’s work,” he said.
Finally, the Argentine athletes were informed by the Federal Police (PF) and Anfisa, who, after the match was suspended, went to Guarulhos Airport. Next Thursday (9/9), the team will face Bolivia, in the Monumental de Nunez, in the tenth round of the World Cup qualifiers.
Saturday’s meeting did not have an agreement
According to Anvisa, no.On Saturday afternoon, the agency met with representatives from CONMEBOL, the Brazilian Football Confederation and Drelection aArgentina. At that time, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency decided Quarantine for the four Argentine players. However, there was no agreement.
There was no agreement. The meeting was to check the details of the situation. Anvisa has taken a stand saying that these players should be placed in quarantine and that the agency will act, even notifying the Federal Police. They were told that. In such a situation, they have to comply with the Brazilian ruling,” Alex Machado noted.
The Director of Ports, Airports and Borders also denied that Anvisa had reached any agreement at the meeting. According to him, the body served only as a government agency, deciding to put athletes in quarantine.
Brazil ArgentinaAnvisa servers in the field
Brazilian national teamRiots occurred due to Argentines not respecting the quarantineAlexander Schneider / Getty Images
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Argentina national team after playing with Brazil suspendedArgentina national team after playing with Brazil suspendedPlay / Twitter
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What is the reason for entering the field?
After ignoring several orders from the Brazilian authorities, including going to training on Saturday right after Anfisa’s design, the players and the delegation dodge the agents at the hotel before the match as well as on the field.
“Then came the information that they had gone for training [no sábado]. In the morning [de domingo], the Federal Police were called, because the information was the day before they had not completed the quarantine. Until then, there had already been a second rule violation. We went to the hotel and found that the players were not in quarantine,” Machado explains.
The Director of Ports, Airports and Borders confirmed that the police health monitoring team arrived at the stadium more than an hour before the match between the two teams.
“Once again came information about non-compliance with the rules. We went to Itaquera in the countryside. Lots of time before the match, an hour or an hour and 15 minutes, i.e. with enough time so that it does not end with the end of the game. Even because Anvisa’s job was not to interrupt the match, because she She doesn’t have that competence, but she had to separate the four players. That was Anfisa’s job,” he says.
Machado claims that the entire turmoil could have been avoided if various previous decisions had been followed. Both quarantine and the arrival and reception of the responsible authorities.
See below the timeline, from the moment the Argentine players arrived in the country until when Anvisa had to boycott the match between Brazil and Argentina, at the Arena Corinthians, in São Paulo:
- Friday (3/9): Argentina’s delegation arrived in Brazil and removed four players from the traveler’s health declaration that they had not passed through the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, South Africa or India. A decree issued by the Ministry of Health in June states that foreigners from these countries must comply with a 14-day quarantine in order to be able to move around in Brazil.
- Saturday (4/9): Anvisa says that when launching in Brazil, the four players did not announce that they had passed through countries where there are restrictions (in this case, the UK). The agency said in a statement that it had received “unofficial news.” […] Provide an account of the allegedly incorrect statements made by these travelers.” Upon confirming that the players had given false information, on Saturday, Anfisa said he had met with representatives of CONMEBOL, the Brazilian Football Confederation and the Argentine delegation, and decided that the athletes would comply with the quarantine.
- Sunday (5/9): Anfisa contacted the Federal Police so that “measures within the authority of the police can be taken immediately”. However, the Palestinian Health Surveillance and Police agents encountered “failed attempts”. According to the organizing agency, there was an attempt to get close to the four players “since the delegation left the hotel long before the match started.” However, Anfisa claims that her “performance has already lagged behind in the stadium facilities”. When agents were able to enter the game and found a “list of players who did not comply with Brazilian health laws and regulations”, they made the decision to enter the field and boycott the match.
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