Premier League clubs to bar players from international duty if quarantine threatened

English Premier League giants Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have all indicated they will not release players for international duty if they are travelling to countries that will require them to quarantine upon return to the United Kingdom.

 Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp led the way in declaring his opposition and Fifa have said that a club may block international duty if a player is required to quarantine for five days or more.

Moves to block Premier League players going abroad

Chelsea have insisted that defender Thiago Silva, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and midfielder Hakim Ziyech will not be allowed to link up with Brazil, Senegal and Morocco respectively if they are not allowed to immediately resume training upon their return.

Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea boss, expressed his concerns with Brazil and a number of African countries on the UK government’s so-called red list.

 “I am absolutely worried because my target is to play Premier League and if I have players in quarantine, I cannot build a group, the group that we want. This is the risk.

“I’m absolutely worried about this situation, but I’m also sure that the club knows how to handle it and if it is the consequence that players cannot go, then this is the consequence. The situation is extraordinary, we have to adapt and we will do this as a club and we will take these decisions when we have to because we are very concerned about the situation.”

Tottenham’s Jose Mourinho said the club would assess the situation closer to the time and the decision would be dependant on a number of factors.

“I want to see what is going to happen,” said Mourinho. “Is Brazil v Argentina going to be played in South America or is it going to be played for example in London? I don’t know. I know little things, Portugal will play in Turin, Norway will play in Spain. Let’s see what is going to happen, where the matches are going to be played and of course the clubs have the right to protect themselves because Jürgen is right, the clubs pay the players.”

Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhüttl expressed his opposition to Premier League clubs releasing players only to potentially seeing them isolated when they return after the international window.

“Absolutely no question for me,” he said when asked about players being withheld from international call-ups. “I mean, you cannot think that I send any player anywhere when he has to quarantine when he’s coming back. This is absolutely nonsense. Forget it. Definitely not.

“Because, I mean, there’s business travel if you want… why should I send them there? Nobody can say that he’s coming back at least two weeks out and cannot play for us so this is not possible. Definitely not.”

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