Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 5:35 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 17:36

Ángel Di María has spoken for the first time about the World Cup qualifying match between Brazil and Argentina. The game was stopped at the beginning of September after five minutes of play by the Brazilian authorities, who demanded on the field that four Argentines go into isolation immediately. On his return to Europe, Di María was confronted by his teammates at Paris Saint-Germain with the most remarkable evening. “When he returned to Europe, everyone spoke of it as a shame. It was also a shame,” says the Argentinian in conversation with ESPN.

Emiliano Martínez, Emiliano Buendia, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, all active in the Premier League, had to be in mandatory quarantine according to the Brazilian health authority and were therefore not allowed to play. “We stayed there for three days. Nobody said anything, nobody came to the hotel. Everything was strange,” Di María begins. “Honestly, we didn’t know anything. They told us this and that. The president came in and said we could play. We went on the field, but nobody did anything. Even after the warm-up, nothing seemed to be wrong. . It’s very hard to explain.”

According to health authority Anvisa, the above-mentioned foursome told customs that they had not recently been to a country that the government of Brazil designates with a red color code, such as England. The reason Argentine footballers were initially allowed to travel to Brazil is that the Argentine Football Association reached an agreement with the Premier League “We made a fool of ourselves in front of everyone,” Di María continues. “When we returned to Europe, everyone said to us, ‘What a shame, Argentina – Brazil. That’s right, it was a shame.”

Di María was particularly shocked at the way Brazilian officials took to the field to interrupt the game, with one of them appearing to be carrying a gun around his belt. “It’s insane to wait for the game to start. Why not warn earlier? Someone came on the field with a weapon, he started pushing with players from our team. The situation is more politically sensitive for Brazil than for us,” he said. Finally, Di María on the high infection rates in the South American country.