England’s unpunished stars will AVOID quarantine at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which would have ruled them out of the first game against Iran, but are expected to have Covid tests every three days
- Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate will be relieved that stars will be available
- Despite encouragement from FIFA, the FA and clubs, some players have not jabbed
- England arrive in Qatar six days before their first game against Iran on November 21, but the country is imposing a five-day quarantine on unvaccinated visitors
- Qatar expected to resort to medical protocols agreed for the Arab Cup
EnglandThe unvaccinated players at the World Cup in Qatar are expected to take Covid tests every three days but should be spared a quarantine period that could have ruled them out of the opening game against Iran.
Qatar’s Covid regulations currently require unvaccinated visitors to spend five days in quarantine at their hotel. The Three Lions are expected to arrive at their luxury complex, the Souq al Wakrah, on November 15 ahead of their opening game at 1pm on November 21.
Under the rules, any players not jabbed would miss training at Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, a six-minute drive from their accommodation, and only return to preparations the day before the game.
England manager Gareth Southgate will be relieved his players are avoiding the quarantine
However, according to The Times, Qatar is expected to relax rules for the 2022 World Cup.
While the Qatari authorities have yet to make a decision, they have indicated that players who took part in December’s FIFA Arab Cup did not have to be isolated, but had to undergo rapid antigen testing every three days and before each match.
The news will come as a relief to players absent Jabbes and England manager Gareth Southgate.
Despite encouragement from FIFA, the FA, the Premier League and clubs, some players have been reluctant to give themselves a Covid vaccine and have been left unprotected.
At the FIFA Arab Cup in December, the Qatari authorities relaxed the rules for players
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed frustration at his midfielders N’Golo Kanté and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who were unable to travel to the United States on the club’s pre-season tour because they failed to meet entry requirements for vaccination.
They were left behind to train with the U21s.
“We can’t force anything,” said Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel. “At the moment it is a completely normal decision to get vaccinated. Both players decided against it. We have to stick to the rules. You can’t join us. You know the consequences.”
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is frustrated that two of his players have been unable to travel to the US because they do not meet the country’s entry requirements for vaccinations
Ngolo Kante was unable to travel to the United States on the club’s pre-season tour and was training with the Under-21s alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek
The UK government’s travel advice for Qatar says unvaccinated visitors to the Middle East country “must go through a five-day hotel quarantine”.
It adds: “A rapid antigen test must be taken on day five and the person will be released from quarantine on the same day if the test results are negative. The test will be conducted at the hotel.”
However, the medical protocol adopted for the FIFA Arab Cup said all players and staff should be tested upon arrival in the country, adding: “If not vaccinated, then [rapid antigen tests] were required of all participants.
“For those intended to be at tournament venues, this will need to be done before each game, while those who are not required to be at tournament venues will need to be tested every three days.”
