Gab Marcotti talks about what happened after Brazil's match was cancelled because Brazilian health officials opposed the participation of three Argentina-based players. (1:50).
Brazil vs. Argentina was one of the greatest moments in world football. The game descended into pure absurdity in Sao Paulo after four minutes when officials from Brazil's Health Authority entered the field.
This incident shows that the main problem in these World Cup qualification rounds was not the conflict between South American's and Europe's national teams. They do exist, but tension is inevitable.
- ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.)
Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. Only)
- Do you not have ESPN? Get instant access
CONMEBOL released a statement saying that "The referee, the match official, will submit a report to FIFA Disciplinary Committee. They will decide what actions to take."
The latest strains of flu are just a sub-product of a larger question: the challenges of planning ahead in the face of a global pandemic.
After the Copa America in June/ July was approved, problems were almost inevitable. This Copa America added another Copa to the already existing Copa America. It is the second Copa extra since 2016, and the fourth Copa ever since 2015. The Copa was being played under protest by players and coaches across the continent, particularly in Brazil.
Their discontent was based on two reasons. The pandemic was one reason. Another was the belief that it would be more productive to catch up with World Cup qualifiers which were late. The Copa result left Europe with 12 rounds to complete before March 31st, and only four rounds to play FIFA qualifiers.
There was still a deficit in four games despite having two games per round. FIFA came twice to South America's rescue. At the end of January, an additional FIFA date was set. The dates for September and October were extended by three games to ensure that players could not arrive on time to play at their clubs' weekend matches.
It is hard to fault the health authorities for upholding rules after the Brazil-Argentina match was suspended. NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images
This was just one reason for conflict with European clubs. Another source of conflict was the quarantine restrictions that were in place in the United Kingdom and Brazil. It is not clear if such restrictions are still necessary, particularly for those who have been fully vaccinated. These are rules. They are rules and they can override any authority football has -- though this was not surprising in South America.
Four Premier League players are part of the Argentina squad -- Cristian Romero and Giovani lo Celso, from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano buendia from Aston Villa. After the Venezuela win, which was 3-1, the squad arrived in Brazil Friday morning.
The reverse is true, just as Brazil is on "red list" in the UK. Non-Brazilians that have been in the UK in the last 14 days must be placed in quarantine. The Anvisa health authority stated that the four players didn't declare to the UK immigration authorities that they were in the UK for the past two weeks.
On Saturday, the day before the game, it was obvious that there would be a problem. Anvisa was aware that four Argentines were in quarantine.
How did this happen? In South America, football has been in bubble. Private citizens are still restricted from traveling within the continent. For example, the border between Brazil and Argentina has been closed. Football has received a pass. Even though the pandemic was out-of-control, and there were 4,000 deaths per day in Brazil, international club matches continued to be played.
Sometimes there were problems: some matches were switched to neutral countries or team delegations had to sleep in airports. The game went on. Copa America was allowed to continue in Brazil thanks to special dispensations.
However, this time, the pass was not extended to people who were recently in the U.K. This was expected. The match would be over. After the match, the four players might have to go to Sao Paulo airport for interrogation.
Brazil's FA was as shocked as anyone when Anvisa officials entered the field to stop the game. There was talk of a deal in which the England-based Argentina players would be replaced at halftime. They could then be taken to Anvisa.
It's unlikely Argentina would have agreed. This was a desperate attempt by Argentina to get time to negotiate and save the game.
It is not clear why a deal was not reached with the Brazilian government. They were keen to see the Copa continue at a time when there was a pandemic. All involved seemed to have expected such an outcome.
The players completed the game and headed to the airport with little or no additional health risk. The Anvisa officials made sure to uphold the rules. Relying on an unexpected reprieve is dangerous. It may not do any harm for football to recognize that its power and influence has limits.
