A week ago, we all saw the fiasco caused by South American authorities (Or the Argentina squad, depending on who you choose to believe), when the match between Argentina and Brazil was suspended.
With players who’d been in England required to quarantine, they were not supposed to take part in the game, so officials from the Brazil government’s health agency Anvisa entered the pitch to stop the event.
It turns out that a week before that, Manchester United loanee Andreas Pereira had already made his debut for Flamengo following his move from the Red Devils, and even scored a goal on that occasion.
Nobody from Anvisa bothered him at the time, but now they claim the midfielder could be punished for that.
The agency released an official statement at the weekend explaining why they didn’t let Willian play for Corinthians, as he goes through the same situation following a move from Arsenal. Since they’ve been questioned about Pereira, there are a few paragraphs about the Manchester United player.
“In this case, the player entered Brazil on 20/8/21 and also filled out the TCSV, with the commitment to comply with the sanitary measures provided for in Ordinance 655/2021, including the mandatory 14-day quarantine, having passed through the United Kingdom in the last 14 days before entering Brazil.
“In view of the facts, Anvisa communicated the fact to the local Cievs to adopt the appropriate sanitary measures, in order to punish the player and others involved in the organisation of the match, without prejudice to the assessment of civil, administrative and criminal liability of those involved.”
Journalist Mauro Cezar Pereira has been in touch with Anvisa and reports that the Manchester United loanee could receive a small fine.
“I was contacted by Anvisa after my manifestations here regarding the situation of Andreas Pereira and Willian. The agency informs that as he has already entered the pitch against Santos (he even scored) and has been in the country for more than 14 days, the quarantine period; the Flamengo player is not unable to play, but runs the risk of incurring appropriate penalties, such as a fine of at least R$2k (£280), with the case being able to end up in the civil and criminal spheres.”
