SAO PAULO: Argentina's Lionel Messi (left) and Brazil's Neymar are seen after employees of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) entered to the field during the South American qualification football match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 between Brazil and Argentina at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday. - AFP

LAUSANNE: FIFA said yesterday it regretted the chaotic scenes that preceded the suspension of the World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina and a decision on possible disciplinary action would be taken "in due course". The match at Sao Paulo's Neo Quimica Arena on Sunday was halted when Brazilian health officials ran onto the pitch seven minutes after kick-off, triggering a melee involving team officials and players from both sides.

The officials intervened just hours after health authorities in Brazil said four England-based players in Argentina's squad should be placed in "immediate quarantine" for breaching COVID-19 protocols. The sides were just seven minutes into the match, which was played in front of only 1,500 spectators because of coronavirus restrictions.

"FIFA regrets the scenes preceding the suspension of the match between Brazil and Argentina for the CONMEBOL qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 2022 which prevented millions of fans from enjoying a match between two of the most important football nations in the world," football's world governing body said in a statement.

"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," FIFA added. Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) said the Argentinian Premier League players -- Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero of Tottenham, and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia -- had given "false information" when they entered Brazil.

Romero, Lo Celso and Martinez were all in Argentina's starting line-up for Sunday's game, prompting the intervention of ANVISA officials. In scenes of confusion on the pitch, Argentina captain Lionel Messi and his teammates left the field while Brazil's squad began a practice game.

After the game was abandoned, Messi criticized the intervention of the Brazilian officials. "We've been here for three days, why are you doing this just now?" he said on Argentina's TyC network. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters that "at no time were we told that they could not play the game". The Argentina team arrived back in Buenos Aires early yesterday. The controversy comes after nine Brazilians based in the Premier League failed to travel to South America following objections from their clubs.

'Series of breaches'

Brazilian officials were unrepentant about the decision to halt the game, however. "We got to this point because everything that ANVISA directed, from the first moment, was not fulfilled," ANVISA director Antonio Barra Torres said on Brazilian television. The four players "were directed to remain isolated while awaiting deportation, but they did not comply. They went to the stadium, and they entered the field, in a series of breaches," the official added.

A government order dating from June 23 prohibits the entry into Brazilian territory of any foreign person from the United Kingdom, India or South Africa, to prevent the spread of variants of the coronavirus. "ANVISA considers that this situation represents a serious health risk and recommends that the local health authorities (of Sao Paulo) order the immediate quarantine of the players, who are prohibited from taking part in any activity and from remaining on Brazilian territory," the agency said in a statement earlier Sunday.

The agency also said Argentina's delegation had been warned in a meeting on Saturday that the players at the center of the controversy must be quarantined and should not play any part in Sunday's game. South American football's governing body CONMEBOL said in a statement that the game had been "suspended" but did not say when or if the match would be replayed, or whether either team would forfeit the game.

"By decision of the match referee, the match organized by FIFA between Brazil and Argentina for the qualifiers for the World Cup is suspended," CONMEBOL said in a statement. "The referee and the match commissioner will submit a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the steps to follow. These procedures adhere strictly to current regulations." - AFP