What Lionel Messi said to health authorities as Brazil v Argentina is suspended 

The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Brazil and Argentina at the Corinthians Arena has been suspended for Argentina's failure to follow public health regulations. Ahead of the game, Brazil's national health surveillance agency released a statement saying Emi Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, Gio Lo Celso and Christian Romero will not be allowed to play due to their failure to comply with quarantine rules.

If the match does not continue, the three points would reportedly be awarded to Argentina and not Brazil.

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) September 5, 2021

However, all four Premier League stars were part of Argentina's squad for the World Cup qualifier against Brazil, due to which the Brazilian authorities stormed onto the pitch to stop the game. In one of the most unprecedented scenes in football history, the Argentina players including Lionel Messi left the pitch and returned to the locker rooms, while the Brazilians stayed on the pitch in a rather confused state of mind.

Lionel Messi and Argentina sent back to locker rooms after 10 minutes played against Brazil

Brazil v Argentina - FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Qualifier

Argentina captain Lionel Messi looked shell-shocked, much like the rest of his teammates, as they were asked to leave the pitch. Behind the scenes, cameras spotted Messi questioning the decision by the Brazilian authorities, as some of his compatriots were accused of breaching COVID-19 protocols.

Lionel Messi to Brazilian health officials: "It's an embarrassment. We have been in Brazil for 3 days and nothing happened."

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) September 5, 2021

"We’ve been here for three days, why are you doing this just now?! We are not playing."

"It's an embarrassment. We have been in Brazil for 3 days and nothing happened."

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was also equally bewildered by the decision to stop the game against Brazil, as he questioned why it took the authorities nearly three days to come to such a decision.

“Why didn’t you visit us at the hotel, we’ve been in Brazil for three days!”

Messi and his teammates are currently off the pitch, but the game is yet to be abandoned. As things stand, due to unprecedented circumstances, the World Cup qualifier has been suspended, but only time will tell what the authorities decide to do.

In the meantime, Messi's comments really put things in perspective. The Argentine players have been in Brazil for three days now, so the PSG man is not wrong to question why the Brazilian authorities waited until the game began to intervene.

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