Brazil-Argentina World Cup Qualifier Halted by COVID-19 Controversy

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - Brazil's World Cup qualifying match against Argentina was dramatically suspended shortly after it began Sunday as controversy over COVID-19 protocols erupted.

The match at Sao Paulo's Neo Quimica Arena between the two giants of South American football came to a halt when a group of Brazilian public health officials came onto the pitch, triggering a melee involving team staff and players. Argentina's players trudged off the pitch to the locker room as the furor raged. Argentina captain Lionel Messi later re-emerged from the tunnel without his team shirt on as confusion swept around the stadium. The stunning intervention came just hours after Brazil's health authorities said four players in Argentina's squad based in England should be placed in "immediate quarantine" for breaching COVID-19 protocols.