FIFA: International duty off – Players to stay with their respective clubs

No international duty for all players, as FIFA confirms the suspension of friendlies and other encounters in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

It has been confirmed all footballers will stay with their club as the situation of the Coronavirus seems unchanged. FIFA has released a statement all players will remain with their respective clubs and are not sanctioned to leave for international duties as scheduled.

"In light of the current situation concerning the Coronavirus, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided that the general football rules which normally oblige clubs to release players for national team matches will not apply for the up-coming international windows in March/April.The situation is rapidly evolving across the world and various international travel restrictions have already been imposed by different public authorities."

Travelling abroad not an option

If they leave for country duty they would be avoiding all protocols in place, if not, one of the most important ones.

That is heading into a high-risk area head first. As per reports, countries across Europe who are considered high risk of the COVID-19 infection has quarantine themselves off from the world.

This especially in Europe. The rapid spread is apparent and Europe has been named as the epicentre of the virus.

More from The Top Flight

• Barcelona identify Newcastle star as Robert Lewandowski replacement
• Arsenal injury news: Mikel Arteta confirms “rapid” attacker suffered injury
• “600 days” Fans make SHOCK Chelsea revelation – They really are poor
• Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta rivals Manchester United for wonderkid
• Manchester United: Erik ten Hag pinpoints 4 players amid Brighton loss

"FIFA understands that to hold the matches under current circumstances might not only present potential health risks to players (and to the general public) but would also, most likely, compromise the sporting integrity of such matches insofar as certain teams may be deprived of their best squads whilst others may not. (Via: Liverpool Echo)"

Football will go on but now is not the time for that

Any precaution will do as long as the problem is being solved. As it stands, the date of April 4 is still the resuming date for Premier League action. There have been talks of the date being pushed back to a later one, but that is yet to be confirmed by the PL.

Other leagues have repeated the same actions but have not set a return date, rather announcing it’s off until further notice. There were arrangements to play behind closed doors, however, that has since changed since Europe’s the epicentre of the coronavirus, as mentioned previously.