The Premier League has made a rash decision ahead of the international break. Per AP News, the top flight will not allow a total of 60 players to join their countries for World Cup Qualifiers if they’re on England’s red list.
Liverpool started the trend on Monday when they announced that Mohamed Salah won’t be released to play with Egypt next week in qualifiers. The reason for this is because after they would return to the UK, the players would face a 10-day quarantine which would then affect their availability for Premier League clubs.
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Super Eagles players who are affected by this decision include Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), William Ekong, Oghenekaro Etebo, Emmanuel Dennis (Watford), Alex Iwobi (Everton) and Frank Onyeka (Brentford). This could also be extended to the Scotland-based stars Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun.
Here’s part of the statement from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters:
“Clubs have reluctantly but rightly come to the conclusion that it would be entirely unreasonable to release players under these new circumstances,” Masters said. “Quarantine requirements mean that players’ welfare and fitness will be significantly impacted. We understand the challenges that exist in the international match calendar and remain open to workable solutions.”
While this is what the Premier League has decided upon, FIFA is completely against the idea. As a result, the clubs could face sanctions from the governing body, which aren’t allowing players to opt-out of international duty just because they’re forced to quarantine.
