South American World Cup qualifiers in doubt as clubs take hard line By Syndicated Content
By Simon Evans
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - This month s World Cup qualifiers in South America are in serious doubt, with European clubs unlikely to release their players to travel amid concern over the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions.
World soccer s governing body FIFA has relaxed its normal rules about player-release for internationals because of the pandemic and worries about the impact of long-distance travel to areas with high case-rates. Clubs are expected to keep their players at home.
All 10 South American countries feature on the UK government s red list travel ban, which does not include exemptions for athletes and sports people. Any UK-based players who played in the games would face 10 days in hotel quarantine on return.