A quartet of Premier League stars will not be allowed to play for their country as part of the upcoming international break, it has been confirmed.

The players in question? Tottenham couple Cristiano Romero and Giovani Lo Celso (currently on loan at Villarreal) and Aston Villa duo Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia.

the punishments come from FIFA, which found the four Argentine stars guilty of “non-compliance with FIFA’s return to international football protocol”.

This follows the fallout from Argentina’s World Cup qualifying showdown with Brazil in September.

On one utterly bizarre night in Sao Paulo, the game between South America’s two biggest soccer nations was abandoned after just seven minutes, as Brazilian health authorities headed to the pitch, in a attempt to eliminate all Romero, Lo Celso, Martinez and Buendia. of the playing field.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – SEPTEMBER 05: Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar Jr. talk to health authorities as the match is interrupted during a match between Brazil and Argentina in the Southern Qualifiers -USA for Qatar 2022 at Arena Corinthians on September 05, 2021 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

All four, in turn, will now have to deal with the consequences of failing to comply with Brazilian national laws surrounding Covid-19.

Lionel Scaloni won’t be able to call on the stars of Aston Villa and Tottenham for either of Argentina’s next two fixtures, one of which could well take the form of a rearranged showdown between the Albiceleste and Brazil.

Four Argentine Premier League players – Emi Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero – have been suspended for two international matches for “non-compliance with FIFA’s return to football protocol”. pic.twitter.com/sIKbuEGSCW

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 14, 2022

To Qatar

While those in a position of power in Argentina’s national setup will no doubt be disappointed to learn of FIFA’s sanctioning of the country’s stars, in truth, the decision matters little.

This comes with the Albiceleste’s two fixtures scheduled for March in the form of this year’s World Cup qualifier.

Argentina, for their part, have already secured a place for showpiece Qatar, thanks to a hugely impressive record of ten wins and five draws in the country’s fifteen qualifiers so far, good enough for 2nd place in the standings. CONMEBOL behind only Brazil.

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