There is optimism in FIFA and the South American associations that English clubs will release their players in October. An agreement is expected by the end of the week for the British government to exclude those players who need to be quarantined for ten days upon their return from South America, a continent listed in the Red List due to the coronavirus.
The agreement, according to the column, will require these professionals to remain bubble-blocked in the countries they will travel to for their national teams. They will not be able to leave the focus, for example, except for training and games. The same will happen when they return to England: they will be able to train and play in the Premier League or UEFA championships, but they will need to stay at home at other times, without trading for ten days. RT-PCR testing for covid-19 is already part of the protocol.
English clubs refused to release their players on the FIFA date in September, which took 11 days, more than usual to accommodate three matches, not two, and reduce the delay in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers due to the pandemic. They claimed that they would lose these athletes for a much longer period of time than the selection period because they would have to comply with a ten-day quarantine upon their return.
Tite called up nine “English” players for the matches against Chile, Argentina and Peru: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Gabriel Jesus (City) and Ravenha (Leeds United). ), Richarlison (Everton) and Firmino (Liverpool). Most of them should appear in the list to be announced by the coach of the Brazilian national team on Friday (24) for the October matches against Venezuela (7, away), Colombia (10, away) and Uruguay (14, in Manaus).
On Wednesday (22), FIFA President Gianni Infantino met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in New York, where the United Nations (UN) General Assembly is convening. Among the topics discussed was an exception for gamers. The clubs in the fourth Premier League also received positive feedback from members of the government regarding the proposal to create a middle ground in the return of these athletes: partial isolation (with permission to participate in training and matches).
According to FIFA rules, clubs are required to release their players on FIFA dates, which are the periods when teams meet in official matches or friendlies – which are nine-day windows in five months of the year (March, June, September, October and November) ). Since there was no release in September, the Brazilian Confederation contacted FIFA who announced that the rebellious clubs would be punished: they could not use the players for five days after the FIFA deadline, which would see them forfeit the Premier League and the Champions League.
However, negotiations were held and with clubs ready to negotiate with the English government to find a compromise in the health requirements for national team matches in October and November, the Brazilian Football Confederation withdrew the complaint and FIFA rescinded the sanctions.
In addition to the issue of bringing these players back to Europe, the Brazilian Football Confederation is also dealing with the 14-day quarantine imposed by the Brazilian government for people who have recently passed through the UK, including Brazilian nationals. The Brazilian Confederation had already requested an exception for those summoned, and the same request was made and accepted, in June. They will also be forced to remain in a bubble of concentration in hotels, training and games.
To avoid a repeat of what happened in the match against Argentina, when four opponents playing in England entered the country without permission, the Brazilian Federation also asked the government to make an exception for Uruguayan striker Cavani, who plays for Manchester United.
In September, representatives of Anvisa (the health monitoring agency) stopped the match between Brazil and Argentina, in São Paulo, after five minutes, to remove the four Argentines who should not have entered the country from the field. Argentina walked off the field and the match was cancelled. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee is now assessing which penalties will be imposed and who will receive match points, as there will be no date available for their continuation.
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