Red-list Argentina call up Premier League trio Emi Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero AGAIN despite farce which saw Brazilian health officials cause game to be abandoned
- Argentina have called up three Premier League players despite previous farce
- Brazilian health officials attempted to quarantine four English-based players
- Now Martinez, Lo Celso and Romero have been called up by Argentina again
- They are no longer required to quarantine in Argentina but must do so on return
- Argentina is on the red list and travellers must quarantine for a period of 10 days
Premier League stars Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero and Emiliano Martinez have been called up for Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers next month — despite the country still being on the UK’s travel red list.
Tottenham pair Lo Celso and Romero both missed two games for the club, while Martinez was absent for one Aston Villa match, as the trio isolated for 10 days in Croatia before returning to the UK after the last international break.
FIFA, the FA and the UK Government are in talks to find a way for players returning from red-list countries to avoid a 10-day quarantine and minimise the disruption to their clubs.
Argentina have called up three Premier League stars for next month’s World Cup qualifiers
Brazilian health officials caused the Argentines’ game with Brazil to be abandoned earlier this month due to four Premier League players not quarantining on arrival to South America
And Martinez will hold fresh discussions with Villa, with the goalkeeper desperate to play for his country in their games against Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru.
However, Villa are keen to avoid a repeat of last month’s complications — which also saw authorities attempt to deport members of the Argentina squad midway through their World Cup qualifier in Brazil for breaching quarantine rules.
The weekend after the upcoming international break, Villa are set to host Wolves on Saturday, October 16 while Spurs travel to Newcastle the following day.
Before the last international break in September, the Premier League released a statement declaring clubs had ‘reluctantly but unanimously’ decided not to release players for matches in red-list countries.
But Martinez, Villa team-mate Emiliano Buendia, Lo Celso and Romero still joined up with their national team.
Brazil, for whom no UK-based players reported for duty earlier this month, have selected eight players from Premier League clubs for qualifiers next month.
Meanwhile, Copa America champions Argentina will face Euro 2020 winners Italy in June next year as part of a new agreement between UEFA and their South American counterparts CONMEBOL.
They won’t have to quarantine in Argentina but must do so when they return to the UK
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