Brazil chaos is damaging – and can cost clubs like Liverpool in Prem title race

Brazil might have to start playing their games in Europe if they want to avoid any more club versus country rows.

Because what happened when their game with Argentina was abandoned this week was a farce – and if they don’t do something, it could affect the title race here too.

Premier League clubs should not face consequences for stopping their players from travelling during a pandemic in my opinion.

And after what happened in Brazil they can turn round and say: ‘Why should we release players at all if you’re just going to call games off?’

Sending the doctors on the pitch with their masks on to drag players off and stop the game against Argentina was a joke.

It was all done for effect. But it’s scaremongering – and that’s dangerous. It’s actually playing with the mental health of people watching around the world.

They were playing with people’s minds and that’s wrong. It could all have been nipped in the bud quietly hours before kick-off.

But Brazil had to make an example out of the players. I felt sorry for them.

Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero travelled all that way to start the game, and then got publicly shamed. It was totally unnecessary.

And then Brazil turn around and say all the players who DIDN’T travel to play for them should banned from playing for their clubs!

It’s the clubs that pay their wages. They should be able to call the shots.

If travelling means you have to miss two or three games in quarantine when you come back, they should put their foot down.

Every game counts in the Premier League. Take Liverpool. Without Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Fimino they are not the same team.

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You drop a game because you can’t field your strongest side and you could be out of the title race very, very quickly.

Players are putting their health at risk travelling to red list countries as well. It’s the ultimate honour to play for your country. But they have families to think about.

Most of Brazil’s players play in Europe, for European clubs.

They might have to start playing international games over here if they want to avoid this happening again.

Brazil are going to qualify for the World Cup. They’ve won seven games out of seven.

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If your big guns aren’t available because your country is on the red list, play your homegrown youngsters.

It just gives an opportunity to other players. Here’s your chance to shine. It’s common sense.

But they had to go and grandstand by sending the doctors on calling the match off. What a farce!

The players travelled all that way for nothing and now there’s a big row going on.

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I don’t think it will affect the relationship between the players and their clubs though. I think that will blow over.

I just think they’ve been treated really unfairly by their countries.

I think everybody needs to get around the table and find a solution because you can’t keep having situations like this.

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England criticism unfair

England deserve more credit than they get sometimes.

They won 4-0 in Hungary and got a draw in Poland – two really hostile places now the fans are back.

England were really good in the second half against Poland. We weren’t letting them have a kick.

The natural thing is to drop off when you’re winning and it’s disappointing they conceded an equaliser but England are a better team than people think they are.

I know Gareth Southgate got criticised for not making any substitutions but I don’t mind that.

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How many managers do you know who are like robots and are going to make a sub like clockwork on 60 or 70 minutes whatever the score is?

I liked that Gareth was big enough to stick with what he had. If the game end 1-0 no-one would be talking about it.

People say we have a problem when we’re leading in games. But I’d rather be leading than going behind and having to come back all the time.

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World Cup greed

Having a World Cup every two years is a terrible idea. It’s just about money.

If you had it every two years the same teams would be winning World Cups back to back, or even three times in a row.

For most players it’s once in a lifetime opportunity to even play in one, let alone win it. That’s what makes it special.

I got to go to a World Cup at 30. And I knew that was it. I wasn’t going to get to another one. It’s something I’ll never forget.

I look at this like this. If I ask you who won the World Cup in 1986 you can tell me straight away. Because it was special.

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If I ask you who won the Champions League in 1997, you’d probably have to look it up. You don’t remember, because it happens so often.

Having a World Cup every two years would mean people start to forget who actually won them, and that would be sad in my opinion.

Four years gives you time for another gem to come through in your country. It means more build-up. More anticipation. More excitement. We shouldn’t lose that.

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