Italy and France have joined forces to require vaccination for outdoor team sports. Premier League athletes will now need to be vaccinated to qualify to join Serie A in January.
It was the Italian government that met this week in an urgent effort to change its coronavirus restrictions. All sportspersons in the country, from professional to amateur games, need to have a Green Pass’ to be able to compete.
A ‘Green Pass,’ which is issued after 15 days, can be obtained by a person who has received their first vaccination. This document (Covid passport style) allows you to travel freely and enter public swimming pools, festivals or religious buildings as well.
This is unlikely to have any effect on Italy’s premier football league, as earlier this month it was discovered that 98% of all Serie A players are double-jabbed in a league which has not been affected by Omicron so far.
It could also cause issues for Liverpool’s unvaccinated players. They would be unable to play in their Champions League match on February 16th if this rule is followed.
Italy stated that anyone who wants to be an athlete in Italy should have a valid vaccination.
This rule applies to any Liverpool player that isn’t vaccinated before their Champions League match against Inter Milan on February 16.
Although it is unknown how many Liverpool footballers have been vaccinated so far, the Premier League revealed that 16% of elite-league players still need to be vaccinated.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, has been supportive of all players being vaccinated. He stated earlier in the month that the club will not sign any players without both vaccines.
The Liverpool manager stated that he believes it (being vaccinated), will have an impact on who clubs sign players. “If any player does not have their vaccinations, they are a threat to us all.
He doesn’t wish to be a menace, it’s just that he doesn’t think ‘I don’t worry about the other’ is true.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager is for the vaccine. He also said that he would not sign players who aren’t jabbed.
The Six Nations match between England and Italy takes place on February 13. Any players not jabbed by the England Rugby team will be expelled from play.
These new restrictions will take effect on January 6, when Serie A will resume after its winter break. Fans will be required to have a Green Pass’ for entry at any level of stadia.
Sports stars that are double-jabbed are exempt from quarantine. However, they should wear masks for at most one week.
Italy’s move comes just days after France president Emmanuel Macron announced that full, double-vaccinations will be mandatory for professional sports people in the country from January 15.
This ruling also affects any non-vaccinated England rugby player like Henry Slade (left), who will be traveling to Italy for the Six Nations on February 13.
Players in England’s rugby team could be affected by the new rules. They will travel to France on March 19 for the last round of Six Nations matches. Chelsea, meanwhile, play a Champions League tie in Lille on March 16.
Although it is not known how many England Rugby players have not been vaccinated, centre Henry Slade with Type 1 Diabetes insisted that he wouldn’t be getting the vaccine last summer due to past jabs.
A spokeswoman for the French sports ministry said a decision would be made ‘within days’ on how the new rules will affect non-French teams competing in the country.
For accessing stadiums or participating in games, both professional and amateur athletes in France must present a Covid Passport.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron announced similar Covid rules earlier in the week
You can get this by being either double-vaccinated, or by undergoing a negative test. However, the new rules will remove the second option and allow you to obtain a single vaccination passport.
Latest figures state that 98 per cent of elite rugby players in France are vaccinated, with the figure slightly lower at 95 per cent of footballers. However, both figures are higher than those in England.
France is the latest country to restrict spectators at football matches. The new Covid rules, which limit outdoor gatherings to 5,000 persons, were announced by Covid.
This follows similar German measures where 15,000 Bundesliga fans were restricted from watching matches due to rules that were introduced in December.
Chelsea face Lille in the Champions League and Thomas Tuchel may only be able to pick players who are vaccinated (Note: no suggestion players pictured have refused the jab)
It was considered by the Italian government to make a similar move at their meeting last week, but it wasn’t decided on in the minutes.
Italy saw the highest number of coronavirus cases hit on Christmas Day with 54,762 daily new cases, though that figure decreased on December 26 to 24,883.
France also had a record number of Covid-19 patients this week. This was 104 611 on Christmas Day. That’s an increase of 10,000 over the previous day. Since the start of the pandemic, this was the first occasion that France has seen over 100,000 cases per day.