San Francisco Chronicle

Premier League defies FIFA

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The decision of the Premier League clubs was clear: No players will be released to play for countries on England’s “red list.”

The announceme­nt Tuesday by the world’s richest league highlighte­d the escalating backlash FIFA is facing across soccer over its decision to overlook coronaviru­s-related quarantine requiremen­ts and concerns of clubs and leagues to squeeze in more World Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks.

The Spanish league also said it would support any of its clubs that did not want to release players for internatio­nal duty with South American teams.

Unlike for other internatio­nal fixtures during the pandemic, FIFA is no longer allowing exemptions for players to opt out of the trips if they are forced to quarantine on their return to countries to resume club duties.

Clubs face FIFA sanctions if they refuse to release players but Liverpool has told Egypt that Mohamed Salah won’t be released for next week’s games because he would face a mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine on returning to England.

Premier League clubs also backed Liverpool’s position, forming a unified front Tuesday to “reluctantl­y but unanimousl­y” block almost 60 players from 19 clubs going to 26 countries on England’s red list that features all 10 South American countries.

“Clubs have reluctantl­y but rightly come to the conclusion that it would be entirely unreasonab­le to release players under these new circumstan­ces,” Premier League chief executive Richard 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.”

The Spanish league hit out at FIFA’s “unilateral decision” to grant two additional days for South American countries to play games in both September and October so three qualifiers can be played in each window, rather than the usual two. That means, regardless of any quarantine requiremen­ts on their return, players likely would not be rested enough to play for their clubs when leagues resume.

“La Liga considers that the internatio­nal match calendar can not and should not be modified in this way, especially given that viable alternativ­es exist,“said the Spanish league, which has had 25 players from 13 clubs named in squads by South American nations.

“La Liga will take appropriat­e legal action as this change will affect the availabili­ty of players to play for their clubs, to the clear detriment of the competitio­n’s integrity.”

CONMEBOL is trying to complete most of qualifying in time for the planned draw in April for the men’s World Cup in Qatar next year and was granted approval for the triple-headers by the FIFA Bureau headed by Gianni Infantino this month. Concerns about FIFA’s actions are being led by the European Club Associatio­n, which is headed by Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari President Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

FIFA not only organizes the World Cup, which generates most of the governing body’s revenue of $6 billion in the four-year cycle, but it also regulates the game globally and oversees the internatio­nal calendar.

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