PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS FIGHT BANS FOR BRAZIL STARS
SOME of the Premier League’s biggest stars have been hit with bans from playing for their clubs this weekend over a refusal to release them for international duty.
Ederson and Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, Liverpool trio Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino, Fred at Manchester United, Thiago Silva at Chelsea and Raphinha at Leeds are all currently set to be unavailable after their clubs’ failure to release them to play for Brazil.
As a result, the Brazilian football federation (CBF) asked Fifa to impose a restriction on players appearing for clubs between September 10 and 14. Fifa in turn has contacted the Football Association and clubs.
However, officials from the teams affected and also the Premier league are in talks with Fifa and are hopeful a resolution can be found meaning the players will not have to sit out any games.
The world governing body may impose sanctions if the players do feature for their clubs. The Premier League announced before the current international window players would not be released where that involved travelling to countries on the government’s coronavirus ‘red list’.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson asking for an exemption, but the request was not granted. The CBF did not request a restriction to be placed on Everton’s Richarlison, who was released by the club to represent Brazil at the recent Tokyo Olympics.
Fifa is understood to have also received requests from two other South American nations asking for restrictions to be imposed – from Paraguay in the case of Newcastle midfielder Miguel Almiron, and from Chile in relation to Francisco Sierralta, of Watford, and Ben Brereton-Diaz, of Blackburn.
The Mexican federation has requested Raul Jimenez be ineligible for Wolves between September 9 and 13.
Aston Villa did allow Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia to play in Argentina’s first two World Cup qualifiers, while Tottenham’s Argentine duo Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are expected to be fined by the club after travelling without permission.