The
Government has extended its elite sport exemption to cover teams and players
entering England for UEFA club competition games from red list countries.
It means that players who have recently been in red list countries
representing their nations can travel to England and feature for their
clubs.
The new provisions mean English clubs and those teams from red list
countries playing Champions League ties and other European matches will not
have to be moved to a neutral venue.
Manchester United and Arsenal's Europa League last-32 first legs in February
were played at neutral grounds due to coronavirus restrictions.
United, who were due to travel to Spain to face Real Sociedad, played at
Juventus' Allianz Stadium in Turin, while the Gunners played Benfica at the
Stadio Olimpico in Rome because of restrictions over Portugal.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel suggested last week that moving
international fixtures to green-listed countries would be helpful
The restrictions have seen a number of club versus country disputes.
Earlier in September, Zenit St Petersburg demanded Brazilians Malcom and
Claudinho to return from international duty after realising they would be
banned from entering England because their homeland was on the red list in
the UK.
The Russian club head to Stamford Bridge on September 14 for their Champions
League clash against Chelsea.
Malcom and Claudinho would have been unavailable had they stayed in South
America for the three World Cup qualifiers.
Last Friday, FIFA cleared players called up by Brazil, Chile, Mexico and
Paraguay during the international break to play in the Premier League at the
weekend.
It was revealed last week that FIFA had invoked Article 5 to block Premier
League clubs from selecting players who they had refused to release for the
latest round of international fixtures, following a request from the
Brazilian Football Confederation.
The request came after Premier League clubs unanimously agreed in August not
to release players for international matches in countries on the UK
Government's red list.
However, following extensive talks with FIFA, the FA and the Premier League,
the associations of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Paraguay agreed to waive the
automatic five-day restriction they had the option of imposing.
The ruling meant Liverpool had Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino
available for selection against Leeds on Sunday.
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