Buenos Aires, Oct 19: FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes the suspended World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina should be decided on the pitch.
The September 5 match in Sao Paulo was suspended after seven minutes due to alleged breaches of COVID-19 protocols. “It is always good to decide matches on the pitch and not off the pitch,” Infantino said in a news conference on Monday.
“It isn’t always possible, we have rules. Let’s see what FIFA’s disciplinary bodies decide.”
The match was interrupted when an agent from Brazil’s health agency, Anvisa, and a policeman walked on to the pitch to remove four England-based Argentina players who the agency said should be in quarantine.
At the time, Brazil imposed mandatory quarantine on foreigners coming from England. The players are being investigated in Brazil for allegedly providing false information on arrival.
“That cannot happen, that a match is interrupted this way is unacceptable,” Infantino said. “That does damage to soccer.”
In South America to promote FIFA’s proposal for biennial World Cups, he said if it was approved it wouldn’t change South America’s round-robin qualifying format. “Playing all qualifying in one month is not a solution,” he said. (AP)
