Villa Players on International Duty - Covid impacts

[ozzjim]

Starting a new thread on this as there are potentially a few affected through the season.

Currently we know the Emis are missing Chelsea, and according to Argentina Everton too. This could have a huge impact this season. Why are Villa being compliant while no one else is?

[KNVillan]

Apparently FIFA are being pushed to penalise clubs who don’t release their players

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/12397060/premier-league-clubs-could-face-possible-fifa-sanctions-after-blocking-players-from-call-ups-to-red-list-countires

We all know that will never happen, don’t we?

(Posted the same in the EMI Martinez thread too)

[placeforparks]

from that sky sports article:

However, FIFA's regulations state that players must be released by their clubs to play for their countries. If they are not, they will be prevented from playing for their clubs during the international window, plus an additional period of five days, unless an exemption is agreed with the relevant national association.

ok, so if you don't release them you lose them for 5 days after the international week.

if you release them, you miss them 10 days (+ travel times) due to quarantine.

not much of a penalty is it!

[Risso]

For Martinez and Buendia, there are  more international games for Argentina, in October, November, Jan/Feb and March. The covid bands may change of course but it’s not looking very good for them playing much before December.

[algy]

You'd have to also ask the Emis, though, how important is it to them to play for Argentina?  It might be a case of losing them for 1, maybe 2 games, but we put ourselves in a good light to them - and any other new signings - that we as a club will fully support their international ambitions.

Hunting for silver linings, it's also good for Jed Steer that he can see that he'll get a decent number of games, even as 2nd choice keeper.  Presumably Dean Smith etc have a reasonable amount of faith in him, since we've not brought anyone else in despite knowing Emi^1 will be unavailable (less worried about Emi^2 since his isn't such a specialised position)

[Risso]

I’m glad that the Emis will be happy, but players also like to win games, and move up the table and progress in cups. All things that have now been made harder.

[Nev]

I do feel proud when we do the right thing but it does leave us behind when every other club acts like shithouses. That's why we have rules rather than goodwill. It was the same with the FA Cup last year, we didn't bitch and moan, we fielded the kids. But we didn't win the Cup either.

Now we are significantly weakened and could be again. Fine if it's a level playing field but this is far from that. The authorities should make the rule and stick to it and that's what we should adhere to.

[Drummond]

I don't want us to be ruthless and insensitive. I don't want us to ignore our players. I don't want us to have a siege mentality and one that says fuck everyone else.

I want us to do the right thing. I want us not to be club that everyone else thinks are arrogant wankers. I want us to support our players to achieve their aspirations.

I want us to be hard and assertive but fair and appropriate. We're a huge club and we've mostly had a reputation for doing the right thing over the decades. Let's be better. Let's win the right way.

[ozzjim]

Or lose doing the right thing because we are missing 5-6 of our best players, that we pay millions to a year.

I see the argument and I'm paying devil's advocate, but the reality of this is that Fifa and the UK government need to find a solution, and if 20 clubs agree to hold a line, we are not the pushovers that cave in.

[Drummond]

Agreed. FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League need to sort their shit out.

[Risso]

I’m with Oz. The problem isn’t the international breaks, of course players should be released to play for their countries. But the continuing pandemic and the additional rules change that, and so either a solution or compromise is found by the countries, Fifa and the UK/Premier League and they all go, or there isn’t and nobody does.

[Nev]

I equate this to the endless accusations thrown at Joe for diving or going down easily, something that is almost an art for the top clubs in this country but suddenly we were in the wrong? I didn't like it but until the same rules apply to all we need to shithouse as much as anyone else.

[SoccerHQ]

Why Everton? Are Argentina insisting they both play v Bolivia? Need to put our foot down if that is the case given how many clubs have refused to release players for this round.

[Flin5tone]

We should be putting a stop to this farce now. We are paying mega wages for players to potentially miss huge chunks of the season with the Covid Rules, this simply isn't acceptable , if the club are happy to do this and let them go and still pay them then bring in some bloody backup options as this is going to leave us very short. Jed Steer was 3rd/4th choice last season and now he's No.1 for a few games absolute lunacy

[CT]

Massive feeling of deja-vu here…..