Brazil Refuse to Release Premier League Players in Time for Club Matches

Following the Premier League and Watford rejecting Liverpool’s request to delay kickoff of their match to allow for more time for stars Alisson and Fabinho to return from duty with the Brazilian national team, the club have been handed a further blow to any hopes they had of the duo taking part.

There had been some hope Brazil might allow the duo and other Premier League stars to return from international duty earlier given their third and final game of the break is set to end just 33 hours before the Premier League’s weekend fixtures kick off, but Brazil manager Tite says that won’t happen.

“That was never a possibility,” Tite told Brazilian media this week when he was asked if it was possible that some of his players might return to their clubs after their game against Colombia on Sunday rather than after they face Uruguay next Thursday. “They were called up for the three games.”

It’s likely Brazil’s hard-line stance is at least in part the result of Liverpool and other Premier League clubs refusing to release their players for the September international break. The unfortunate result is that Alisson and Fabinho seem all but certain not to be available to face Watford on the 16th.