Infantino puts pressure on English clubs to release their internationals

Fifa President Gianni Infantino on Wednesday called for “solidarity” over making players available for the September international rally, which English clubs oppose, while asking for “support” from the British government on quarantine rules.

“I appeal to the solidarity of each member association, each league and each club,” said the leader in a statement, assuring that “the provision of players for the next international windows is a question whose urgency and importance are of the essence ”.

Mr. Infantino is targeting in particular English Premier League clubs. They announced Tuesday that they would oppose, at the end of the week, the release of their players from selections from countries classified in the red zone, where the circulation of Covid-19 and its variants is considered too high by the English government. The latter therefore imposes a quarantine of ten days on any person returning from these countries.

Gianni called BoJo

This measure concerns around 60 players from 19 clubs, in 26 countries classified on the red list, mainly African and South American. Gianni Infantino also indicates that he wrote to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “ask for the necessary support, in particular so that these players are not deprived of the possibility of representing their country”.

He “suggested that an approach similar to that taken by the British government in the final phase of Euro 2020 [à savoir une exemption de quarantaine] be implemented with a view to the next international matches ”, specifies Fifa.