Last update on.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager, says that he's still not sure if Brazil goalkeeper Alisson will be able to play on Sunday
Jurgen Klopp said that players and clubs are the only ones who can be punished. Liverpool's Brazil players will face a ban this weekend due to Covid-19 protocols.
Klopp is unsure if Alisson or Fabinho are available. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City is unsure about Ederson or Gabriel Jesus.
Fifa rules allow players to be suspended for not being released during the South American World Cup qualifiers. This can lead to five-day bans.
However, Raul Jimenez and Miguel Almiron from Newcastle can both play.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce claims that Paraguay forward Almiron will face Manchester United on Saturday.
Bruce didn't give any details about Almiron's availability, but said that "common sense prevailed". Paraguay had filed a complaint with Fifa following the failure of Almiron to report for international duty.
Bruce stated, "It's been going on behind the scenes continuously, but I can only say that he is available, and there are still live debates as you speak."
Mexico has withdrawn their complaint so Jimenez will face Watford Saturday.
Fifa received 11 complaints from Premier League players, representing four countries and eight clubs, after they failed to report for the latest round South American World Cup qualifiers. These were played between 2-9 September.
Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, Brazil).
Gabriel Jesus and Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)
Thiago Silva (Chelsea, Brazil)
Raphinha (Leeds, Brazil)
Fred (Manchester United, Brazil)
Miguel Almiron (Newcastle, Paraguay).
Raul Jimenez (Wolves, Mexico)
Francisco Sierralta (Watford, Chile)
Richarlison, Everton's forward, did not travel to Brazil for the World Cup qualifiers. It is understood that Brazil did not ask Richarlison to be barred from Everton's match against Burnley on Monday, as he was allowed to play at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Almiron will now be able to play for Newcastle but Liverpool's Firmino, who was injured before the international break, would have been absent from this Sunday's match.
All the South American qualifiers were held in countries that are on the government's red list of travel. Anybody entering or returning to the UK from these countries must be quarantined for 10 days.
Many players didn't report for international duty. This led to South American national associations asking Fifa for bans.
Premier League officials met with clubs to try to resolve the problem.
A brief meeting on Thursday with the clubs involved only confirmed that a solution had not been found.
Klopp answered a question about Alisson and Fabinho's availability. We'll see. There are meetings ongoing.
Manchester City will be without Ederson, their first-choice goalkeeper for Saturday's Premier League match against Leicester. This could lead to Scott Carson's rare appearance as 36-year old goalkeeper Ederson is unable to play Saturday's Premier League match at Leicester due to a positive coronavirus.
The Premier League clubs will also be affected beyond the weekend. Thiago Silva, Chelsea defender, and Fred, Manchester United midfielder, will not be allowed to play in the Champions League next week. Chelsea hosts Zenit St Petersburg; Manchester United visits Young Boys in Switzerland.
'Nobody cares'
Klopp suggested that clubs were being punished for a reorganisation in the international calendar that was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Each of the South American teams played three qualifiers in September's international break instead of the usual 2. The same will be true during October's next break.
Liverpool boss Roberto Mancini believes that the qualifiers should be spread over the summer. Instead, the Copa America was rearranged. This was postponed due to the pandemic.
He continued, "People decide these types of things without us,"
"OK, no one cares. That's the way it is. They can play Copa America and still have many more games to play.
"Then, about a week or ten days before the international break we get the following: "OK, now we play three games, and the last one is on Thursday night."
"We don't have anything to do with it." It is impossible for us to make any decisions about it. We just read the following things.
Klopp stated that it was not their decision to place players in quarantine for 10 day upon returning to the UK. He said they would "lose all" if they remained in a hotel room for this long.
He said, "Then the decision was taken, not by us: If that's as it is then the players can't go."
"Now, the next thing is that we have a football match to play again, and they tell us that we can't play our Brazilian players.
"It's almost like, 'Huh? We did nothing. We did not organize the Copa America and are not responsible for any games that they didn't play.
"We didn’t invite players. We didn’t say that when they return, there’s no exception. All of us didn't do this.
"But, in the end, the only [people] who are punished are the players or the clubs - and that is all we have to do with the entire organisation."
'A no-win situation' - Villa boss Smith
After travelling to Argentina, Emiliano Buendia from Aston Villa is currently quarantining in Croatia.
Players who reported for international duty in South America will not be able to play in this weekend's Premier League matches because they are quarantined.
After Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano buendia travelled to Argentina, Dean Smith, the Aston Villa boss is now without them.
Martinez was the goalkeeper in a World Cup qualifying match against Brazil. The match was abandoned after Brazilian health officials stated that four players from England based in Argentina had violated quarantine rules.
They are currently quarantining in Croatia.
Smith called it a "no win situation" and added that "Legally I don't believe we had any right ban our players." They couldn't travel because I didn’t want them missing Aston Villa games.
