Roberto Firmino from Liverpool and Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City are two of the eight Brazil players who will not be allowed to play for their clubs this weekend
After Brazilian football authorities issued a Fifa rule prohibiting eight Premier League players from appearing for their clubs, they will not be allowed to play this weekend.
All affected cities include Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea as well as Manchester United and Manchester United.
Fifa regulations allow players to be suspended for not being released during international windows. This ban can last for up to five days.
This decision is applicable from 10-14 September.
Brazil invoked the bans following the Premier League's decision to stop players from appearing for their country.
Due to the 10-day isolation period under UK rules, players who travel to red-list countries will have to miss many games upon their return.
Apart from missing their weekend games, Thiago Silva, Chelsea's defender, and Fred, Manchester United's midfielder will not be allowed to participate in their Champions League opening games against Zenit St Petersburg or Young Boys next Tuesday.
Brazil did not ask for Everton forward Richarlison's exclusion from Monday's match against Burnley. Brazil acted with leniency in this case, as Everton permitted Richarlison's participation at the Olympic Games even though they were not required to.
Three Liverpool players, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho, as well as Manchester City pair Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, and Raphinha (a Leeds forward) will be affected by the move.
After previous attempts by the Mexico, Paraguay, and Chile football federations, Raul Jimenez and Miguel Almiron to prevent Francisco Sierralta and Francisco Sierralta playing this weekend, eight Premier League clubs will not be allowed to play.
Fifa has informed the clubs and they are currently considering the situation.
Negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes. It is understood that Premier League clubs don't consider this a fait accompli.
Gianni Infantino, president of Fifa, had previously requested that the UK government provide exemptions for players to enable them to honor their international obligations. This was even if it meant they were required to travel to countries on the red list.
The world governing body is expected to continue pushing this because of the possibility that the same situation could recur around international fixtures in November and October.
Premier League is also known for talking to stakeholders to find the best way forward.
Analyse
Since it was obvious that players would not be exempted, Fifa requested. The full extent of this issue is still unknown as some countries have yet to declare if they are triggering the rule.
Fifa rules include automatic restrictions against non-release. The world governing body must comply with the demands of countries that believe they are being unfairly treated to prevent the five-day rule from being applied. This is unlikely to be the case.
Liverpool and Manchester City are the most affected clubs, but at least Liverpool's Champions League matches next week will be outside the stand-down window. Chelsea has the comfort of knowing that Zenit has also lost Malcolm and Claudinho to Brazil, which has triggered the same rule.
You could argue that keeping players on the team and not letting them go is better than having them spend 10 days alone. After which, they would need to get back into their fitness routines.
The situation is not satisfactory, however, as there are two more international breaks.
Clubs could theoretically ignore the rule, but this would lead to them playing ineligible players, which could have serious ramifications.
