FIFA have finally broken their silence regarding the controversial and chaotic incident that brought an abrupt end to yesterday's highly-anticipated Brazil vs Argentina showdown, with world football's governing body issuing an official statement.
This clash, a World Cup qualifier for the upcoming Qatar 2022 edition, kicked off at 3 p.m. ET as scheduled but after only a few minutes on the clock, Brazilian federal police and medical authorities enter the pitch and halted the proceedings, bringing about much confusion and embarrassment.
It was quickly revealed that four Argentine players – Emiliano Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso – were wanted for detention and deportation after allegedly lying in documents when entering the country so as to avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
As a result, chaos ensued, with the coaches and staff members of both national teams entering into deep dialogue with the Brazilian authorities in front of the camera to reach a solution. This never came, resulting in the Argentine players walking off the pitch and, a few hours later, leaving the country as the game had been suspended.
CONMEBOL quickly revealed that since this fixture was a World Cup qualifier, FIFA would reach a verdict on this wild case as it is under their jurisdiction. In their first public statement since this incidence, football's world governing body announced that an investigation will be held by the disciplinary bodies before passing judgement.
"FIFA regrets the scenes preceding the suspension of the match between Brazil and Argentina for the CONMEBOL qualifiers of World Cup 2022 which prevented millions of fans from enjoying a match between two of the most important football nations in the world," the statement read.
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) September 6, 2021
"The first match official reports have been sent to FIFA. This information will be analyzed by the competent disciplinary bodies and a decision will be taken in due course."
The mention of disciplinary bodies hints that one nation could be slapped with a fine, or worse, handed a loss. The lack of available dates could make a replay difficult, meaning the result might be decided by FIFA. The AFA are adamant they did nothing wrong, arguing that none of the aforementioned Argentine players falsified information in order to get entry into Brazil.
The Selecao, meanwhile, state that while it was the Brazilian authorities who called off the game, this was not a decision made by the nation's football federation. It will be interesting to see what the verdict will be for this case.
