In recent hours the controversy had swelled after the decision taken by the Professional Football League (LFP) not to release internationals, especially Africans, from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs called to join their selections to play matches outside the zone. EU / EEA (European Union and European Economic Area, the latter comprising the Twenty-Seven and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) if an isolation of five days, minimum, had to be respected on their return because of the Covid-19 .
Many African breeders protested against this decision, which they considered discriminatory.
A term also used by the UNFP (the players' union) in a press release.
The Senegalese Federation sent a letter to the French Football Federation (FFF) and, according to our information, some governments have even tried to negotiate directly with the clubs or their presidents.
If this decision mainly concerned African internationals, European selections were also affected such as the Netherlands which are to play in Turkey (outside the EU).
Lyon striker Memphis Depay pointed out the preferential treatment enjoyed by the France team and appealed to… Emmanuel Macron on Twitter.
“Please the French government, can I join my national team on Monday?
It would be just like you make an exception for the France team which will play outside of Europe (in Kazakhstan) ”
French government can I please join the national team @OnsOranje on Monday.
That would be fair since y'all make an exception for the France national team that travels outside of Europe to play games as well !!!
@EmmanuelMacron @UEFAcom_fr @OL
- Memphis Depay (@Memphis) March 19, 2021
But the situation changed this Saturday, March 20 in the morning.
The French government has finally granted exemptions to internationals who wish to join their teams next week.
The LFP sent an email to the clubs to specify the framework.
The private plane, a new source of tension
This framework nevertheless remains quite drastic with several conditions to be respected.
If players will no longer be forced to observe a septaine on their return to France, they will have to pass daily PCR tests for seven days.
Foreign federations will have to respect a strict sanitary protocol.
Finally, players will have to return to France with private planes.
A point that risks causing debate and further widening inequalities.
Many African selections obviously do not have the means to repatriate their players by private flight.
The same goes for some clubs, especially in L2, which have several selected Africans in different selections.
Each L1 and L2 club will therefore have to act on a case-by-case basis.
The position of PSG, concerning its two Senegalese internationals, Diallo and Gueye, is not yet known.
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African internationals are due to participate in qualifying for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) and European internationals in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The AmSud zone had already postponed its qualifying matches.