The players called up for the national team: the confrontation between Infantino and Boris Johnson and the championships

“Many of the best players in the world play in England and Spain: we believe these countries share a responsibility to maintain and protect the sporting integrity of national team competitions.” FIFA President Gianni Infantino is taking the field to persuade La Liga, the Premier League and their clubs to allow players to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The danger, he says, is to distort the tournament before it even begins.

the situation

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It all started from Liverpool, where he was informed that he would not allow Salah to reach Egypt for the upcoming matches, one of the countries included in the “red list” of England, along with 25 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, Turkey and Uruguay. Indeed, players joining these and other national teams will have to observe 10 days of quarantine upon return, disrupting English clubs’ plans, skipping any matches and effectively halting activity on the field, with potential consequences also for their state of form. When other teams followed in the Reds’ footsteps, it was the Premier League that lined up in their defence, followed by La Liga, with a total of 60 players rejected for their national teams and 19 English clubs, to be added.”

Euro 2020 model

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For this reason, Gianni Infantino wrote a direct letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to lift the quarantine obligation for players, in order to allow him to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, one of the most prestigious professional titles. “.” I have proposed – Infantino’s idea – to adopt an approach similar to that of the UK government for the final stages of Euro 2020, and to implement it further. “During the travel tournament, in fact, citizens (including Italy) were transported between different countries without getting stuck in the hotel, through the ‘bubble’ mechanism.” Now – he adds – I urge everyone to ensure the release of the national players in the World Cup qualifiers coming. I ask to show solidarity from every federation, league and club to do what is fair and equitable for the global game.”

What will happen?

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Infantino fears that some national teams, deprived of key players, will be punished en route to Qatar 2022. “England and Spain, understood as countries, share a responsibility to maintain and protect the sporting integrity of competitions around the world – he says… Number one. At FIFA – I therefore demand that the players concerned be exempted from quarantine to ensure their departure.” A stone that went straight to the Politics Pool, which Boris Johnson immediately collected and returned to the sender. The British government, after receiving Infantino’s appeal, announces – via Sky Sports UK channels – that it refuses to ease restrictions imposed on players participating in international matches. “There is no intention – she says – to change the policy of arrivals from the red-list countries or force Premier League clubs to make players travel to World Cup qualifiers in those regions.” Boris Johnson reiterates that the alert to foreign variables for the time being is the limit.