Otamendi grappled with official who attempted to stop Brazil vs Argentina

Nicolas Otamendi grappled with an official who was looking to stop Argentina's contest with Brazil.

The pair clashed as a group of health officials attempted to halt the World Cup qualifier at Corinthians' Neo Quimica Arena.

It took just 11 minutes for a set of individuals, including police officers, to storm the pitch and demand that the match be halted.

The issue came about after four Argentina players - Emiliano Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero - were accused of 'lying' on documents that breached Covid protocols.

Otamendi and Sevilla's Marcos Acuna both approached the official, who was armed with paperwork.

The former Manchester City defender looked to push the official before he reacted and pushed back.

Nicolas Otamendi clashed with a health official

Acuna then lashed out before people quickly rushed from the touchline to break up the situation.

The game in Brazil was eventually abandoned over a dispute about individuals coming from the UK undergoing a 14-day quarantine period.

Argentina's Premier League quartet arrived in Brazil from Venezuela and thought that being in the team's bubble meant they could travel into the South American country.

Argentine FA chief Claudio Tapia said: "Here you can't talk about any lie because there is a health legislation under which all South American tournaments are played.

"The health authorities of each country approved a protocol that we have been complying with to the maximum.

Argentina's clash with Brazil was called off on health grounds

"What was experienced today is regrettable for football, it is a very bad image. Four people came in to interrupt the match to make a notification and Conmebol asked the players to go to the locker room."

The Argentine coach, Lionel Scaloni, added: "It makes me very sad. I'm not looking for any culprits. Whether or not something happened, it was not the time to make that intervention.

"It should have been a party for everyone, to enjoy the best players in the world. I would like the people of Argentina to understand that as a coach I have to defend my players.

"At no time were we notified that they could not play the match. We wanted to play the game, the players from Brazil too."

The Argentina squad arrived in Brazil on Friday following their win in Venezuela and authorities felt the four players were exempt due to being part of their secure bubble, as is indicted by CONMEBOL.

"These players arrived in Brazil on a flight from Caracas," Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said. "The flight landed in Guarulhos (Sao Paulo).

"They declared that they had not been in any of the four countries which are restricted for the past 14 days. Anvisa was warned about supposedly false information given by these players.

"After that, Anvisa sent a notification to CIEVS (in charge of Sao Paolo's Covid-19 restrictions). We have to clarify that false information given to Brazilian authorities might be infractions of health laws of the country and might be an infraction of our criminal law."