The Brazil vs Argentina encounter in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers was called off midway after four Argentina players were found guilty of flouting COVID-19 protocols.
FIFA handed out fines and suspensions on Monday while ordering Brazil and Argentina to replay the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier that was abandoned after health officials stormed the field to question the quarantine status of players. (More Football News)
Four of Argentina’s English Premier League players were accused of flouting quarantine requirements in Sao Paulo in September and of falsifying Brazilian coronavirus declarations by not stating they had been red-listed in Britain in the previous 14 days.
Emiliano Buendía, Emiliano Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero will now serve two-match bans in FIFA fixtures after “not complying with the FIFA Return to Football International Match Protocol,” the world governing body said.
FIFA ordered the Brazilian Football Association to pay a fine of 550,000 Swiss francs (about USD 600,000) for ‘infringements related to order and security’, and over the abandonment.
The Argentinian Football Association was fined 250,000 Swiss francs (USD 270,000) for failing to ‘comply with its obligations in relation to order and security, the preparation of and its participation in the match’, and the abandonment.
FIFA has not set a date or location for the game to be played again. Brazil and Argentina have already sealed a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November ahead of the scheduled conclusion of CONMEBOL qualifying in March, when both teams have another two games to play.