Lionel Messi’s Argentina to face Neymar’s Brazil again in FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier after Sao Paulo farce

Argentine officials said they believed the same protocols used in the Copa America in Brazil in June were in place for the World Cup qualifiers to allow teams to travel across the continent. 

The World Cup qualifier between Neymar’s Brazil and Lionel Messi’s Argentina in September 2021 that was suspended just minutes after kickoff when health officials ran onto the pitch must be replayed, world governing body FIFA said on Monday (February 14). The match at the NeoQuimica Arena in Sao Paulo was halted in farcical fashion after five minutes when Brazilian health officials invaded the pitch to stop Argentina`s England-based players, who they accused of breaching the country’s COVID-19 quarantine rules, from playing.

The officials claimed the Argentines had breached Brazilian rules stating travellers who had been in the UK, South Africa or India during the previous two weeks were forbidden from entering the country unless they were Brazilian citizens or had permanent residency. The officials claimed the players had misled border officials by declaring they had not been in a red list country during the 14 days before the game.

FIFA Disciplinary Committee decisions on Brazil v. Argentina match: https://t.co/Tfl7yO0UO1 pic.twitter.com/LfOGY6AAja