The Premier League declares its clubs have “reluctantly but unanimously” decided not to release their players in the countries that are present on the UK’s red list during the international break in September.
As per the guidelines laid down by the UK government, any player coming from the red marked countries must have to quarantine themselves for 10 days, which means the players could miss several matches.
The Premier league further added that this measure would be strictly followed for the 60 players from 19 clubs as they are expected to be traveling to 26 countries that are red marked in the UK list.
Since Egypt, Argentina, and Brazil are among those red marked countries, players including Mohamed Saleh of Liverpool and Gabriel Jesus from Manchester and Alisson are also currently affected.
The Egyptian Football association reveals to receive a letter from Liverpool saying Saleh wouldn’t make it to Egypt’s world cup Qualifiers scheduled in Cairo against Angola, on September 2
According to the Premier League, “Extensive Talks” with the Football Association and Government had taken place to find a way out of the problem, but “no exemption had been granted”.
Sources also confirmed that Liverpool will not be releasing Roberto Firmino, Fabinho, and Alisson for the upcoming World cup Qualifiers scheduled in Brazil. Travelers coming from any of the red listed countries must quarantine for 10 days.
With the increasing tension between the clubs and country issues, the Premier League decided to take matters into its own hands.
Similar to Liverpool Trio, Gabriel Jesus and Ederson won’t be playing for Brazil. Fred of Manchester United, Leed’s Rapinha, Chelsea’s Thiago Silva, and Everton striker Richarlison are also among the players affected.
Not just that, Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso, and Emiliano Buendia will be unable to travel as Argentina is also on the UK’s red list countries.
If Miguel’s Almiron of Newcastle had played with Paraguay, he would have been forced to quarantine himself for ten days straight.
However, FIFA in South Africa has recently eased the September and October international windows for two days so that countries can catch up on World Cup Qualifiers – previously postponed due to Covid-19. They explained this two-day extension would ensure “sufficient rest and preparation time between matches”.
That means the matches scheduled on September 9 and October 14 will be played – the players involved will be released for eleven days.
