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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.
Premier League clubs have unanimously decided to not release players for internationals played in red-list countries in September ❌
Players would be asked to quarantine for 10 days on their return to England. pic.twitter.com/NZrRoiCC3S
— GOAL (@goal) August 24, 2021
South American countries Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru are all on the list, which would affect a number of Premier League stars like Man City's Ederson and Gabriel Jesus, Everton's Richarlison, and Liverpool's Allison Becker.
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.
It could get messy.
