PREMIER LEAGUE clubs could be facing an international Covid-19 row after the global players’ union raised fears over next month’s opening South American World Cup qualifiers.
Jonas Baer-Hoffman, FIFPro’s general secretary, has demanded that players should be allowed to pull out of the games if they are concerned about their safety.
Roberto Firmino, along with fellow Liverpool stars Fabinho and Alisson, have all been called up by BrazilCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Everton striker Richarlison is also in the Brazil squad to take on Bolivia and PeruCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Colombia are all countries in the world top 10 of confirmed Covid cases.
And that means a genuine worry for Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Everton and and Spurs in particular.
Liverpool’s trio of Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Alisson were named in the provisional squad for Brazil’s games with Bolivia and Peru, alongside Gabriel Jesus, Everton striker Richarlison, Chelsea new recruit Thiago Silva and Villa’s Douglas Luiz.
Jesus’ City team-mate Nicolas Otamendi is in the Argentina squad for their matches with Ecuador and Bolivia, joined by the Spurs pair of Juan Foyth and Giovani Lo Celso and Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.
All ten South American nations are due to play two matches in the delayed opening rounds of the 18-match qualifying competition.
But the FifPro chief says the players must not be strong-armed into playing for their countries and risking issues with their club careers.
Baer-Hoffman said: “The players need to be able to make free decisions.
“It’s a region heavily infected by the pandemic and there are certain COVID-19 restrictions and travel warnings.
“There are players who are concerned about this and we are concerned that players may be in a situation where the health protection of them and their families would come into a collision course with national team commitments.”
Any players travelling to South America could also face quarantine requirements, ruling them out for up to 14 days after their return.
Earlier this month, Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and Burnley’s Johann Berg Gudmundsson pulled out of Iceland’s Nations League games with England and Belgium, sparking fury in their homeland.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
