So I've just seen that Elneny has tested positive for Covid19. This is not really a surprise considering his international team mate Salah, has also tested positive after linking up with the international team.
It seems (unsurprisingly) that whenever players travel for international duty, a plethora return with a positive Covid19 result. I asked this question during the last international break and I'll ask again, why is international football taking place right now?
Us normal folk are not allowed to travel outside a 5km radius of our homes (in Ireland anyway) yet footballers are able to fly all around the world and come back without having to self isolate. At least with international club football, these guys are in their own bubbles but with national teams, they are all travelling from different parts of the world.
While you would hope Elneny missing a few games for Arsenal isn't the end of the world (we surely aren't THAT bad yet), I read yesterday that Aubameyang and his international teammates slept on the airport floor for 6 hours and were not allowed to leave the airport due to unexplained administrative issues. Is this not like the biggest farce ever? These guys are meant to be in their own bubble and you have them exposed in a Gambian airport, a likely hotspot for Covid19. It will be a huge shock if Aubameyang returns to London with a negative Covid19 result. And I'm sure the Aubameyang ordeal albeit completely bizarre, is not the only ridiculous story that some footballers will encounter over their international travels.
It's really hard to take these regulations seriously when FIFA are not only forcing international football upon us, but they are forcing glorified friendlies and ACTUAL friendlies down our throats. Cancel the Euros but lets go ahead with the facking Nations League?! It's bad enough that all these fixtures are taking place in a very congested fixture schedule, when players seem to be dropping like flies from serious injuries, but during a global pandemic? Where is the logic in all this?
The disgrace that is international football
posted on 17/11/20
comment by Edinspur (U1109)
posted 2 hours, 27 minutes ago
I think it’s been well covered but even without COVID it’s a shambles. They want to literally play footballers until their limbs fall off - it doesn’t benefit anyone as nobody cares much about the nations league and the friendlies are beyond pointless and dangerous.
The condensed schedule is dangerous and footballers are dropping off like flies. I’m surprised a team like Liverpool hasn’t set a precedent and tried to sue England for what happened to Gomez etc. I’m really for international football but the scheduling is beyond ridiculous. What f**king danger thought to put three games there - it’s a disgrace.
Then add onto the travesty of mingling people unnecessarily during a global pandemic. It’s bafflingly stupid and it will take a player getting seriously ill/dying to cause the c**ts in charge to wake up.
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complete madness
posted on 17/11/20
imo all international football should be cancelled until summer.
the nations league should be cancelled and all qualifiers should be caught up on in mini tournament.
at this point the next window of course is March so the authorities are laughing at the money they've raked in off tv and will now make some meaningless gesture of some sort on covid.
posted on 18/11/20
Real simple. Clubs just refuse to release players for any international games that are not the World Cup or the Euro's.
There have been too many cases of players contracting the virus while on International duty, and really it should have taken just one player to get it, for any sensible association to call a temporary ban on these games.
Clearly it is impossible to guarantee players safety in all these overnight stay games, and like other non essential things during this pandemic, they should be scrapped.
posted on 18/11/20
The clubs signed up to the reform of the internationals to the nations league. The complaint before was meaningless friendlies so they tried to do less of that
Kind of biting them now with the current situation which was unforeseeable
Also losing the tv money for internationals affects grassroots funding etc
posted on 18/11/20
international breaks are rubbish at the best of times, but right now its just ludicrous.
posted on 18/11/20
The Nations League is a joke of of tournament, silly format and a pointless competition. And then there's the conference league from next year. who comes up with these ideas at UEFA
posted on 18/11/20
They should all pull a bergkamp and refuse to travel
posted on 18/11/20
comment by Boris 'Inky’ Gibson (U5901)
posted 1 day, 1 hour ago
I don’t know anyone with AIDS/HIV therefore it doesn’t exist
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Yep,, thats how people look at it
posted on 18/11/20
comment by Jim Lahey (U22183)
posted 17 minutes ago
They should all pull a bergkamp and refuse to travel
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He didnt refuse to travel, if you do a Bergkamp you end up in a car to eastern europe for a 3 day trip, 2 days in the country and 3 days back I think he took a 2 week boat back from the USA world cup.
posted on 19/11/20
comment by Blarmy (U14547)
posted 21 hours, 51 minutes ago
The clubs signed up to the reform of the internationals to the nations league. The complaint before was meaningless friendlies so they tried to do less of that
Kind of biting them now with the current situation which was unforeseeable
Also losing the tv money for internationals affects grassroots funding etc
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there's a difference between signing up for the same amount of games but being "quasi-competitive" games and getting shafted by teams forcing in a third game in the week in europe.
The european clubs have been shafted royally. the south American teams at least have the good grace to train for a week for their games.
IMO clubs should go on "work to rule" and figure out the absolute latest possible time a player can be released to the country for competitive games and refuse all else.