Lega Serie A sides with the clubs that will decide not to give their players to the national teams that will have to play in countries for which, upon return, a quarantine will be needed. He made it known with an evening note: “The Serie A National Professional League announces that, on the occasion of the FIFA window in September 2021, it will support in every venue the decision of its clubs not to release the players called up by the national teams to play in countries whose return to Italy is provided for fiduciary isolation in compliance with the provisions of the law in force regarding the Sars Covid-19 virus ».
Serie A thus joins the English Premier League and the Spanish Liga among the leagues that have opposed Fifa, arguing on the possible disadvantage that this would entail for individual clubs: “Otherwise, Fifa’s decision not to extend the exceptions the convocations for countries where there is a quarantine obligation upon return and the various limitations related to the spread of the pandemic would create competitive disparities for the teams that would allow their members to travel to these countries “, the League said.
Positions that risk creating a lot of impasse on next year’s international competitions and that could jeopardize the qualifications for the 2022 World Cup.
But even before the Serie A note, the reaction of Uefa president Gianni Infantino was not long in coming, especially controversial with the English position: «The release of the players in the next international windows is a matter of great urgency and importance. I am grateful for the support and cooperation of many players in this difficult period. I ask for a show of solidarity on the part of every FIFA member association, of every league and of every club, to do what is right ». The UEFA president had added that “many of the best players compete in England and Spain and we believe that these countries also share the responsibility of preserving and protecting the sporting integrity of competitions”. Infantino then appealed to Boris Johnson: “On the issue of quarantine restrictions in England, for players returning from the red list countries, I wrote to Johnson and asked for the necessary support, in particular, so that players do not are deprived of the possibility of representing their countries in qualifying matches ». The feeling is that the tug-of-war between Uefa and individual national leagues is destined to continue also in the autumn.