Both the Brazilian and Argentinian FA have been left fuming after their World Cup qualifier saw police and local health officials storm the pitch and detain players.
It was alleged before the game that four Argentina players – believed to be Tottenham 's Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero as well as Aston Villa 's Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez – were in breach of Covid rules.
That's because they are based in England and non-Brazilians have to isolate for 14 days when arriving from the UK.
This saw chaotic scenes, coming after less than 10 minutes when there was an attempt to detain the players.
The Argentina team would then retreat to the dressing room with superstars such as Neymar and Dani Alves left on the pitch wondering if the clash would resume.
The decision was then taken to suspend the game after around 25 minutes of chaos.
Following the scenes, both South America football associations have taken a firm stance.
The Brazilian officials were the first to release a statement blasting the bizarre scenes, insisting they had not been notified that interference would take place.
A statement read: "The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) deeply regrets the events that ended up causing the suspension of the match between Brazil and Argentina, valid for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
"CBF defends the implementation of the most rigorous health protocols and complies with them in their entirety.
"However, we emphasise that we were absolutely surprised by the moment when the action of the National Health Surveillance Agency took place, with the match having already started, since Anvisa could have exercised its activity in a much more appropriate manner in the various moments and days prior to the match.
"The CBF also emphasises that at no time, through the interim President, Ednaldo Rodrigues, or its directors, interfered in any point related to the sanitary protocol established by the Brazilian authorities for the entry of people into the country.
"The role of the CBF was always in an attempt to promote understanding between the entities involved so that the sanitary protocols could be fulfilled satisfactorily and the game could be played."
Their counterparts took a similarly dim view of the shocking scenes in the Brazilian capital.
It read: "The Argentine Football Association expresses its deep discomfort at the suspension of the meeting between the Argentine National Team and the Brazilian National Team in São Paulo.
"Like the CBF, the AFA is surprised by the actions of Anvisa once the game has started. It should be noted that the Albiceleste Delegation was in Brazilian territory since September 3 at 8am, complying with all current sanitary protocols regulated by Conmebol for the normal development of the Qualifiers heading to Qatar 2022.
"Football should not experience these kinds of episodes that undermine the sportsmanship of such an important competition."
