The Brazilian Football Confederation has announced that it refuses to replay the match against Argentina that was left unfinished last year during the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Confederation stated on Wednesday on its official website: "After receiving a request from coach Tite and coordinator Juninho Paulista, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ednaldo Rodriguez, will seek to suspend the match."
In February, FIFA ordered both Brazil and Argentina, who had already secured their places in the finals, to replay their World Cup qualifying match that was halted in São Paulo last September only a few minutes after it started, due to violations related to COVID-19 protocols by the visiting team.
It was only seven minutes into the match when representatives from Brazilian health authorities stormed the field, leading to significant controversy, and the Argentine players retreated to the dressing room, never returning to the pitch, resulting in the match being stopped permanently. At that time, health authorities stated that four Argentine players, who were playing in the English Premier League, should "immediately enter quarantine" for violating coronavirus protocols.
The statement from the Brazilian Confederation indicated that FIFA had previously reached an agreement with the Argentine Confederation to cancel the match. The statement continued: "The Brazilian Confederation will accept the agreement proposed by FIFA and the Argentine Confederation not to play the match against Argentina in September."
The president of the Brazilian Confederation remarked, "Considering the position of the technical staff, we will now ask FIFA to cancel the match. Our priority is to win the World Cup for the sixth time in Qatar."
