The Premier League’s four representatives in the Argentina side are under investigation by Brazilian authorities after being accused of breaking quarantine rules.
Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez, and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are part of the Argentina squad set to take on Brazil on Sunday night. The quartet travelled from England to South America last week.
However, with few exemptions, non-Brazilians are currently prohibited from entering Brazil from Great Britain, Northern Ireland, South Africa or India. According to a resolution in Brazil, a traveler with “origin or passage through the United Kingdom, South Africa and India in the last 14 days, when entering Brazilian territory, must remain in quarantine for 14 days”.
“The players in question, who arrived in Brazil on a flight from Caracas (Venezuela) to Guarulhos, declared they had not spent time in any of the four countries with restrictions on them in the last 14 days,” Anvisa (the National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil) said in a statement.
Anvisa’s statement added: “Yesterday, Friday, unofficial news reached Anvisa reporting alleged false statements made by these travelers.
“False information provided to the Brazilian authorities may constitute sanitary infractions and violation of criminal laws.”
The Sao Paulo State Health Secretariat said: “An epidimiological and sanitary investigation has begun.”
The government of Sao Paulo, as notified by Anvisa, sent health agents to the Marriott hotel at Guarulhos international airport.
Buendia, Martinez, Romero and Lo Celso were already in violation of Premier League policy by joining up with Argentina for games in “red list” countries, although Villa had given their duo permission to play for their national team.
