Clubs from across Europe are reportedly reluctant to sign Premier League footballers who’ve refused to take a Covid vaccine.
The news comes after Chelsea pair N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were not included in the club’s 29-man squad for their pre-season tour to the US due their “Covid vaccination status”. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve not been vaccinated, however.
It’s believed a number of footballers in England have refused to take the Covid vaccine to date. While this will not have an impact on the Premier League, it may stop players travelling abroad. Various countries, such as the US, require visitors to be vaccinated.
There is said to be evidence of top European clubs being reluctant to pursue a transfer due to a player’s vaccination status. A source has told The Telegraph “the phone calls stop immediately” when certain teams are aware a player is unvaccinated.
Clubs on the continent are still expected to make exceptions to this unwritten rule, yet the consensus is they’re ‘too much trouble to accommodate’. Travelling on pre-season tours – such as Chelsea’s trip to the US – and overseas in general becomes tricky.
Covid rules are relaxed across Europe at the moment with some nations not checking vaccination records on entry, even if it is a mandatory requirement. But should there be a Covid outbreak this winter it could force nations to reimpose stricter rules.
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Domestic leagues in Italy and France made vaccination compulsory for players after a rise in infections last winter, yet some leeway has been given. In the last seven days, 139,272 people have tested positive for Covid in the UK… and they are just the recorded cases.
The reluctance to sign unvaccinated players could cause careers to stall. Premier League players deemed surplus to requirements are often forced to move abroad due to Championship clubs not being able to afford their wages, such is the gap in the modern game.
The EFL confirmed a quarter of players at its 72 member clubs “do not intend to get a vaccine” against Covid last December. The previous month, it was reported 31 per cent of players had not received their first dose. According to the UK government, 93.2 per cent of the population have received their first dose, while 69.5 per cent have had three doses.
Thomas Tuchel was asked whether footballers should do more to convince the public to have the vaccine last September, shortly after Kante contracted the virus. “It would be easy to say yes now and get maybe applause from a lot of people,” came the reply.
“But at the same time do I have the right to say it? I’m not so sure. I can make the decision for myself, and everybody else needs to reflect about it and take a risk or not. I think it’s a serious question and vaccination seems to be a proper protection.
“I am vaccinated. But I don’t really see myself in a position to speak out proper recommendations. I think that would go too far. I’m a football coach, I’m not a 100 per cent expert in this and I would leave it up to them. Everybody is adult enough and everybody lives in a free country, which is a good thing.”
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