Argentina, who finished at the top of the South American group stage of the World Cup, had already secured a place in the final week of the next World Cup and the remaining matches were almost a formality. However, the leader of the team, Mr. Scarloni, went against the grain and insisted on including the four players who were controversially banned by the FIFA in the army list, namely Gustavo Romero, Damien Martinez, Beandia and Ruschusso. As a result, Argentina's appeal was unsuccessful, and the four players were unable to take the field and had no choice but to "swim the airplane river".
It all started in early September 2021 when Brazil played Argentina in a World Cup South American qualifying match. Just six minutes into the match, Brazilian health officials burst onto the pitch, accusing four Argentine internationals who were playing in the English Premier League at the time - goalkeeper Damian Martinez, midfielders Beandia and Lussu, and defender Kristian Romero - of violating quarantine regulations by entering Brazil which required them to leave the field immediately and undergo quarantine. The incident led to the interruption of the match and the four offending players were banned by FIFA for two international matches.
It is reported that the Argentine side has long appealed against the punishment, the leader of the team Scaloni originally expected to shorten the ban to one game, that is, in the last game away to Ecuador to come back. However, the appeal was rejected by FIFA, which triggered the embarrassing situation of the players "swimming in an airplane". The four players have already returned to Europe to report to their respective clubs as they will not be able to play in the final World Cup outing on Wednesday (30th).
