This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
Chile's football federation has faced criticism for breaching Covid-19 health bubble rules during the Copa America tournament in Brazil.
On June 20, the federation admitted that a local hairdresser was brought into their hotel in Cuiaba, Brazil, despite the team being required to stay in a health bubble to minimize their chances of contracting the novel coronavirus.
The health bubble rule was put in place to protect the players and staff from the spread of Covid-19, particularly in a country like Brazil that has surpassed half a million Covid deaths.
Chile's federation acknowledged the breach in a statement, saying that the delegation had broken the health bubble rules by allowing an unauthorized hairdresser to enter the hotel, despite the individual testing negative for Covid-19.
The players involved, including Arturo Vidal and Gary Medel, will be fined for the breach.
It's worth noting that Vidal had previously contracted Covid-19 and was forced to sit out a World Cup qualifier due to the illness.
Chile's Copa America team had already been under scrutiny for participating in the tournament, which was delayed by a year due to the pandemic and faced opposition from politicians and citizens.
