Speaking in the post-match interview (h/t The Sun), Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has expressed his displeasure with FIFA after Thiago Silva was called up for international duty with Brazil.
The domestic competitions have gone into an international break again, and unfortunately, that means a very different thing than it did a couple of years ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has deemed some countries which are just too risky to travel to, yet players are often called to these nations for international duty.
Tuchel is facing a similar dilemma at Chelsea after his veteran centre-back Silva was called up for international duty with Brazil. A similar situation took place during the September break but some Premier League clubs refused to let their players leave to the red-zone countries.
However, this time, the clubs have been instructed to let their players leave. The German boss expressed his displeasure over the matter in his post-match press conference (h/t The Sun):
“Thiago will go and play for Brazil and will come back to us on the day of our next match against Brentford. He is our player, yet he comes back on matchday from a country where he maybe then needs to do a quarantine.
“This is the situation of international breaks in 2021. Like it or not, what can I do? Is it a good solution for us as a club? No. But we cannot hold him back.”
Although a 10-day isolation period is to be observed by players returning from those countries, it remains to be seen if that rule is held up as it is expected to change in the coming days.
With the Blues having to play 7 games in the space of 21 days after the international break, Tuchel will be hoping to have his star centre-back in full fitness for the fixtures.
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