Coach Jürgen Klopp raised the possibility of Liverpool withdrawing players from the World Cup qualifiers later this month, saying “it is simply not possible” for team members to spend 10 isolated days in a hotel after returning from COVID-19 Red List countries in the UK.
Direct travel to and from Red List countries is prohibited in the United Kingdom, and all of South America and Portugal are still under these strict measures. Liverpool have three Brazilian internationals, Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino, and Portuguese striker Diogo Jota, who are likely to be called up by their countries later this month.
Anyone returning from Red List countries must be quarantined in an airport hotel for 10 days, with no exemptions for elite athletes, and Liverpool coach Klopp admitted his concern for the potential impact of players flying around the world for World Cup qualifiers.
“Having more information would be great, but we don’t get it,” Klopp said at a news conference Wednesday. “I think FIFA was pretty clear, he said we shouldn’t let the players go this time and I think all the clubs agree that we can’t let the boys go and resolve the situation when they come back, with our players in a quarantine of 10 days in a hotel or whatever.
“That’s not possible. I understand the need for different federations, but this is a time when we can’t make everyone happy. So we have to admit that clubs pay players, which means we have to be the priority.
“It means we all understand the different needs, with the competitions approaching in the summer, I understand. But you can’t make everyone happy at the same time in this period of our lives.
“People need time to make decisions and we don’t think too much about it because we’re not influential in it, but we just take care of the things other people decided.”
“But I think everyone agrees: we can’t let players go and play for their country and then quarantine them for 10 days in a hotel. That’s not how we can do it.”
South American qualifiers in the CONMEBOL region are at greater risk of disruption, and Brazil’s matches against Colombia and Argentina are likely to involve several Premier League players.
But with FIFA giving clubs permission to retain players for this qualifying round in the event of problems with COVID-19, Klopp has said the interest of clubs must come first.
The rate of COVID-19 infection in the UK has declined in recent weeks as the government has now set a roadmap towards relaxing social distancing measures, with all the restrictions they need to get up before June 21st.
But despite progress in the UK, Klopp said clubs are concerned about the possibility of players dropping their safe COVID-19 bubbles to join their international teams.
“First of all, we are concerned, yes, about all the things that happened from the virus’s point of view in the last few months, when someone had to come out of the bubble,” he added. “Inside the bubble, we weren’t without cases, but we were without cases for a long time and it never spread.
“There were two periods: in the last international shutdown, when more cases arose than before, and the Christmas period, which was a challenge for the whole of society.
“And now in England, everything is going in the right direction and it looks positive and promising, but yes, we are worried about things.”
CONMEBOL will meet internally on Wednesday and will have a virtual meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino scheduled for Thursday to discuss the issue.
Sources have told ESPN that CONMEBOL leaders are not considering playing in a bubble and will not play the playoffs without their European players.