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'Backbone' - Simon Jordan makes Aston Villa claim as international row continues

Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia were at the centre of the drama, along with the Tottenham duo Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, as Brazilian health officials stormed the pitch in Sao Paulo

Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan

The fallout from Argentina’s abandoned World Cup qualifier against Brazil on Sunday continues to rage.


Aston Villa pair Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia were at the centre of the drama, along with the Tottenham duo Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, as Brazilian health officials stormed the pitch amid claims the Premier League quartet had breached quarantine rules.


Spurs are furious with their players after it emerged they travelled to South America against the club’s wishes.


Martinez and Buendia were given permission to join up with their country by Villa on the understanding they returned to the UK after the Brazil match.

Outspoken pundit Simon Jordan has waded into the debate and says the quartet should not have travelled, and that Villa should have been stronger.

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“If you’re going to give players the amount of power, they get perform gestures on the pitch, they can refuse to honour contracts, they can do press interviews about which club they want to play for, which club they don’t want to play for, you’re going to start to empower players to make decisions that are fundamentally wrong,” he said on talkSPORT this morning.

“None of these players should have been going to a red list country to play international football.


“I’m sorry if they don’t like it, I’m sorry if they think it’s part of their careers.

“I’ve seen members of my family have funerals that I can’t go to because of the Covid situation. I’ve watched people around the world suffer because of the Covid situation.


“If players can’t play because it was in a red list country, they should have accepted it.

“The clubs should have had more backbone. The Tottenham situation is slightly different. The players have done precisely what they wanted and there should be consequences.”

On Villa allowing Martinez and Buendia to travel, Jordan added: “That’s weak on Villa’s part, they backed down to player power.


“But it’s not Aston Villa’s responsibility to know the quarantine rules of Brazil or Argentina. The players should know that.”

Fellow pundit and former Villa striker Tony Cascarino didn’t agree with the second point, adding: “I wouldn’t go along the lines that the club shouldn’t be involved. It’s their employees so they should be involved at every step of the way when they go abroad.”

What do you make of the situation? Have your say in the comments section...

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