Global stars on ‘red list’ will be blocked by Aston Villa
Dean Smith has confirmed Villa will block players from international duty later this month if they would be required to quarantine on their return.
Zimbabwe’s Marvelous Nakamba, Brazil’s Douglas Luiz and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez are the players impacted, with all three countries currently on the UK’s coronavirus red list.
Though travel is permitted for work purposes, a 10-day quarantine is then required on return, meaning players would miss Villa’s Premier League matches immediately after the international break.
Smith has spoken to the trio this week to explain the situation. Villa’s stance is likely to be repeated across the Premier League, with clubs having been granted permission by Fifa to deny the release of any player travelling to a red list country.
He said: “I’ve sat down with all three of them and it’s our right to stop them from travelling to a red-list zone. They’re disappointed because they want to represent their countries but they understand as well.
“I’m pretty sure all Premier League teams will stop players from going to red-list zones where they’re required to self-isolate for 10 days in a hotel when they get back.
“At the end of the day, the football clubs are the wage payers to these players and we’ve never stood in the way and we’ve always celebrated players being international footballers.
“We will continue to do so but, such is the world is at the moment. When Fifa and Uefa are telling you that you don’t have to allow your players to go to red-list zones then it’s only right to take them up on that.”
Villa host Wolves this evening aiming to bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat at Sheffield United and stay in touch with the contenders in the race for European football.
Anwar El Ghazi’s stoppage-time penalty earned a 1-0 win at Molineux earlier this season and sparked an unbeaten run through December. With Villa now struggling for consistency, Smith hopes a win this evening could do the same.
He said: “Everyone around the area knows it is a derby game – not as big as the blue one but it is big enough.
“We had a really good win there, in a tight game, which set us up for a really good December. More of the same would help.”
