(Football news) Footballers who did not travel after being called up by Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Paraguay have been banned from participating in club fixtures for the next five days as per FIFA regulations. The likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Wolves and Watford will be affected as a result.

Earlier, the Premier League had stopped players travelling to red list countries, even if it meant they could not represent their countries for the World Cup qualifiers. Under the United Kingdom rules, players travelling to red list countries would be required to isolate for 10 days, resulting in several games missed in the process. As things stand, The Premier League, FA, U.K Government and FIFA are all involved in the discussions while Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League has communicated to the clubs that a solution is being worked upon.

Chelsea’s Thiago Silva and Manchester United’s Fred will not only miss the weekend’s Premier League fixtures but also the opening match of the Champions League against Zenit St. Petersburg and Young Boys respectively. Liverpool will miss Roberto Firmino, Alisson and Fabinho while Ederson and Gabriel Jesus will be absent for Manchester City. Raul Jiminez of Wolves, Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United and Chile defender Francisco Sierralta of Watford will also miss out.

Unfortunately, the real victims in these unusual circumstances are the players. Neither have the Premier League or the International board taken into account the wishes of the players and whether they would prefer representing their country for the World Cup qualifiers or endure a five day ban for their refusal to travel. When the Brazil vs Argentina World Cup qualifier was suspended because four Premier League players: Emiliano Martínez, Emiliano Buendía, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero chose to travel and represent their countries, they were made to pay heavy fines by their respective clubs, simply because they chose to represent their country instead of adhering to the Premier League rules.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been pushing for coronavirus travel exemptions for players to fulfill their international obligations. If the current situation has any chances of changing, giving International teams assurances about player availability in October and November fixtures is the only way to go.

Also read: Brazil vs Argentina abandoned after health officials invade the pitch due to COVID-19 regulations