World Cup qualifying and internationals: Guardiola, Klopp, Solskjaer & Bielsa on releasing players
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has joined Premier League rivals Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in suggesting players will not be allowed to travel for this month’s international break if they have to quarantine when they return.
In the UK, anyone returning from coronavirus ‘red list’ countries – including Portugal, all of South America and parts of Africa – is required to quarantine for 10 days, without exception.
“It makes no sense if the players go to the national team and then have to isolate for 10 days when they come back,” said Guardiola.
Football’s world governing body Fifa says clubs can prevent players leaving if they need to quarantine for five days or more on their return.
This could affect the availability of several high-profile Premier League stars for the international games scheduled to be held from 22 March to 1 April.
Premier League clubs discussed the issue at a meeting last week, deciding it will be up to individual clubs how they choose to proceed in line with government and Fifa guidelines.
Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup are due to take place in South America, Europe, Asia, North and Central America, while in Africa, the final group matches of the Cup of Nations qualifiers have been arranged.
The Premier League’s South American players are most likely to be affected as all countries on the continent – including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia – are included on the ‘red list’.
Portugal – the only European country on the list – has tried to avert a potential quarantine issue by moving its World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on 24 March from Lisbon to Italian city Turin.
A number of Portugal internationals – including Manchester City trio Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, plus Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes – play in the Premier League.
Source: BBC Sports
