Chelsea may have to leave unvaccinated players at home when they travel to France to face Lille in the Champions League last 16 next month, according to UEFA.
The Blues will face Lille at Stamford Bridge on February 22, with the French champions hosting the return match in northern France on March 16.
France, on the other hand, is tightening its Covid restrictions, requiring that all professional athletes competing in the country be either vaccinated against the virus or have just recovered from one.
In theory, UEFA expects teams to follow local regulations in the Covid area, according to UEFA. The country's coronavirus health pass has been changed to a vaccine pass, which will take effect on Monday. This means that only those who have been vaccinated or who have just recovered from Covid will be allowed to enter huge venues.
The French situation is expected to have an impact on Real Madrid, who go to Paris Saint-Germain for the first leg of their quarterfinal tie on February 15.
UEFA says it is still talking to stakeholders about its plans for the knockout phases of European championships and that more information will be forthcoming.
Last season, European club matches were transferred to neutral locations in countries where Covid rules had imposed travel bans. The issue is unique in that the travel ban does not apply to everyone; only those who have not been vaccinated are affected.
It would be more difficult to justify shifting the full match to a different country and stadium in these circumstances.
Furthermore, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has spoken out in favour of Covid vaccine.
UEFA stated in a statement on Thursday that "the specific conditions under which matches are played in each country are subject to the decisions of the competent authorities in that country."'Each team will be required to comply with the applicable rules in the country where the match is played in principle, but the specific competition Annexes – which are still being developed and contain special rules due to COVID-19 that apply to the knock-out phase – may provide additional guidance in this regard.'
blogpay
Total Comments: 0