Fifa under pressure to announce Prem clubs will NOT be sanctioned for blocking players from World Cup qualifiers

FIFA has been put under pressure to announce Prem clubs will NOT be sanctioned for keeping their players back from this week’s World Cup qualifiers.

Mexico, Chile and Paraguay have demanded their stars should be banned from club action this weekend after they were not released.

Brazil are also considering a similar stance after six top flight clubs including Liverpool and Manchester City refused to let their players fly back for action.

But now the influential European Club Association has stepped into the row by suggesting the chaos surrounding Brazil’s abandoned game with Argentina is evidence Fifa must rule out any punishment on Wednesday.

Charlie Marshall, the ECA chief executive, said: “This has to be sorted out within the next 24 hours.

“Liverpool and the other clubs need to know if they can play their Brazilians or not or whether Fifa is going to enforce the five-day rule for not releasing the players.

“If Fifa is not going to sanction the clubs then they need to tell them.

“It also needs to be explained how Brazilian players based in England should have been able to avoid quarantine there but not Argentina players.”

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Brazilian health experts walked onto the pitch in Sao Paulo in a bid to detain Spurs stars Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso as well as Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez and midfielder Emiliano Buendia.

The quartet were accused of breaching Covid rules by not quarantining for 14 days after leaving the UK.

Fifa has admitted it “regrets” the crazy scenes and is still working out what if any disciplinary action is needed against Brazil or Argentina.

But the ECA has accused world chiefs of running roughshod over its own rules and regulations.

European clubs were furious with South American bosses and Fifa for extending the international window to fit in a third qualifier.

It was also suggested that the games - all played behind closed doors because of the Covid situation throughout the continent - should be switched to regional hubs rather than forcing teams to criss-cross South America.

But the ECA also believes Fifa will feel obliged to ignore the ban requests - which would rule Wolves striker Raul Jimenez out of the Molineux side’s trip to Watford - as a result of the Sao Paulo morass.

That would also end the threats to Alisson, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino, Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Chelsea defender Thiago Silva, Everton’s Richarlison and Manchester United midfielder Fred.

The Argentine players who travelled, as well as Spurs’ Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez, must quarantine on their return to the UK.

And Leeds owner Andrea Radrizanni said his striker Raphina deserved praise, not sanction, for his decision to reject his first international call-up.

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Radrizanni said: “We invited him to make a decision and he decided no. 

“He showed great respect for his club and the Premier League in giving up this opportunity to play for his country for the first time."

And ECA boss Marshall added: "We don't think there should be sanctions because if a player has to quarantine he is unavailable to immediately play for his club again, so it would be longer than the agreed release period.”

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