Premier League players who have been banned for the upcoming weekend have received a lifeline.
It emerged earlier today that the Brazilian FA have invoked the five-day ruling that suspends players from club activity for five days if they do not participate for their nations.
The ruling punishes the clubs for not releasing their players, and it impacts Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leeds United.
All of those clubs decided not to release their Brazilian players due to the fact they would have visited a red list country, forcing them to miss 10 days of action upon return, and CONMEBOL’s decision to extend the international break by two days did not help.
Brazil’s decision to invoke the ruling means players will be ineligible to compete in the Premier League this weekend, and that includes the likes of Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, Ederson, Thiago Silva, Raphinha and Fred, with the latter of those also set to miss Champions League action on Tuesday.
But there is a lifeline thanks to the Premier League, who, according to the Manchester Evening News, have said they will help clubs by engaging in talks with FIFA in a bid to prevent the ruling coming into force.
That will provide hope for all the clubs involved, while the European Clubs Association have also called on FIFA to do the right thing, demanding an answer within 24 hours.