Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has come out to defend his players after seeing a World Cup qualifying match with Brazil halted in the first half. The game, taking place in Sao Paulo, was stopped after just ten minutes with a number of police officers and health officials storming the pitch to detain four players for defying local Covid-19 quarantine orders – the individuals in question being Spurs duo Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, as well as Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez. Government rules in Brazil state that any individuals entering the country from the UK are required to oversee a 14-day self-isolation period. However, Scaloni has suggested that his players or staff are not to blame and that there was never any doubt over the game going ahead.
Lionel Scaloni said: “At no time were we notified that they could not play the match. We wanted to play the match, the Brazilian footballers [did] too. It should have been a party for everyone to enjoy the best players in the world. I would like the people of Argentina to understand that as a coach, I have to defend my players. It makes me very sad, I am not looking for a culprit. If something happened or did not happen, it was not the time to make that intervention.”
Meanwhile, president of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia, has also had his say and suggested that all Covid-19 protocols were followed as expected.
Claudio Tapia said: “What happened today is unfortunate for football, it is a very bad image. Four people entered to interrupt the game to make a notification and CONMEBOL asked the players to go to the locker room. You cannot talk about any lie here because there is health legislation under which all South American tournaments are played. The health authorities of each country approved protocol that we have been fully complying with.”
