Written by Gabriel Coxtron
Last Friday, November 5, the match between Brazil and Argentina, in the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, was halted six minutes into the first half after representatives of the Sanitaria monitoring agency (Anvisa) entered the field. Actions taken against four Argentine players playing in the UK who did not respect Brazil’s health rules against Covid-19 when entering the country.
After the clients entered, the Argentine team left the stadium and went to the Neo Química Arena locker room, where it stayed for hours before leaving the country.
Since then, FIFA, as the organizer of the qualifiers, has opened a procedure to investigate what happened and determine the outcome of the match. However, after 60 days, the football governing body has not been informed of any deadline for submitting the decision.
By Joao Paulo de Carlo, sports law attorney and newspaper columnist Law in the fieldThis delay reduces the importance of the issue.
“It is very difficult to analyze what was happening in the procedures established to resolve the impasse in the match between Brazil and Argentina, because it is confidential. Likewise, there is no deadline established by law for the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to take a decision on it. The matter, it is acting with caution. However, what he notes It is that this time course should take on the weight and importance of the decision itself, as Brazil and Argentina add points, and include themselves more and more in the World Cup dispute.. Qatar will end up making the content of the decision irrelevant.
what would happen?
By the time the case happened, it was Law in the field I listened to the experts to see who should be punished or held responsible for the situation. According to them, the position of the Argentines is subject to punishment, such as WO and a fine for the National Federation.
“In my opinion, a WO (3 to 0) and a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs will be applied to the AFA, without prejudice to other disciplinary measures. This is stipulated in Articles 14 and 20 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” Joao Paulo de Carlo.
Gustavo Lopez, sports law attorney and newspaper columnist Law in the field, also believes in WO and “the (distant) possibility of elimination in the Cup”.
“Article 5 of the FIFA regulations speaks of force majeure (Argentina will claim it). If I do not accept this argument, the FIFA Disciplinary Code stipulates a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs. I do not believe in the chance of exclusion from the qualifiers,” said Jean Nicolau, lawyer Specialist in sports law and author of the book “Private International Sports Law”.
“Everything will depend on what has been agreed between the confederations. If the match does not take place, one of the teams will have to be penalized with the WO. In this case, it is important to emphasize that the sporting rule will prevail over national standards, only and exclusively to identify who is responsible for the failure to complete the match. Vinicius Loreiro, an attorney specializing in sports law, added.
understand the situation
Four Argentine players working in the UK lied to the Brazilian authorities when they entered Brazil to play the match. Goalkeepers Emiliano Martinez, defender Cristian Romero and midfielders Lo Celso from Tottenham Hotspur and Buendia from Aston Villa have been ordered to be deported by Anfisa for giving them false information upon arrival in the country.
They said they had not been in the UK for the past 14 days, which is not true. The health protocols adopted by the Brazilian government do not allow entry to travelers from the European country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hours before the match scheduled for 16:00 (GMT), Anfisa ordered the Federal Police to deport the four Argentine players. However, they did not comply with the determination to stay in the hotel where the Argentine delegation was staying and moved with the rest of the team to the stadium.
In contact with ‘Globo’ during the match broadcast, Anvisa manager, Antonio Barra Torres, explained the situation:
“There are four players. On arrival in the national territory, they present the traveler’s health clearance. In this document, it is not mentioned that they passed through one of the three prohibited countries, specifically to contain the epidemic. But later it was found that they passed through the United Kingdom. It was verified Between last night and today. We got to this point because everything Anvisa advised, from the first moment, was not fulfilled. They were instructed to remain isolated while awaiting deportation. But “it was not fulfilled,” a representative of the Brazilian Health Agency said. They go to the stadium, they go into the field, and there is a series of non-compliance.”
After hours of stopping, CONMEBOL officially announced the suspension of the match.
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