Leeds United's Raphinha to replay chaotic international as Premier League stars are hit with bans

The Whites' star man has featured in all of Brazil's last seven qualifiers, scoring three and making two goals to establish himself as a genuine contender for Tite's 2022 World Cup finals squad. Brazil became the first South American qualifiers for the Qatar tournament when they beat Colombia 1-0 in November, with Raphinha playing 64 minutes.

One game he missed however, was the September clash with Argentina, a game which kicked off, but did not finish.

An agreement between 19 of the 20 Premier League clubs that players would not be released to travel to countries that were then on the UK government's red list meant that the Whites winger and eight other English-based Brazilian players did not join up with their national team, due to the need to quarantine upon their return under Covid-19 guidelines.

Four English top flight stars did travel, however, to represent Argentina and despite reports that Emi Buendia and Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa and Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero of Spurs were ordered to leave Brazil having not completed the necessary quarantine period upon their arrival in the country from England, three of them started the game in Sao Paulo.

Not long after kick-off, the game was suspended as Brazilian health officials entered the pitch, apparently intent on deporting Martinez, Lo Celso and Romero.

FIFA has now decided that the World Cup qualifier should be replayed, although they're yet to confirm a date or a venue.

A statement read: "After a thorough investigation of the various factual elements and in light of the applicable regulations, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided that the match should be replayed on a date and at a location to be decided by FIFA.

"In addition, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has concluded that the abandonment of the match stemmed from several deficiencies of the parties involved towards their respective responsibilities and/or obligations in connection with the former."

FIFA has therefore ordered the Brazilian Football Association to pay a fine of just under £400k wfor infringements related to order and security, while the Argentinian Football Association have been fined around £160k for its failure to comply with its obligations in relation to order and security, the preparation of and its participation in the match;

The abandonment has cost each federation an additional £40k, while Buendía, Martínez, Lo Celso and Romero have been hit with two-match bans for not complying with FIFA's return to international football protocols.

There was also controversy over the November meeting between Brazil and Argentina, with Raphinha at the centre of it. The South American Football Confederation [CONMEBOL] suspended officials who failed to punish an elbow on the winger during the 0-0 draw.

A statement released by CONMEBOL confirmed that Nicolás Otamendi had committed violent conduct against the Whites attacker, putting him at risk through the use of an arm.

Neither referee Andrés Cunha nor his VAR Esteban Ostojich saw fit to punish the elbow with a red card, despite replays showing the incident clearly. A transcript of the officials' conversation revealed that Ostojich felt a yellow card was warranted for the former Manchester City player.