Rangers join European clubs to threaten to block their players playing at AFCON
Rangers are part of the clubs that have threatened to block their players from featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, according to Telegraph Sport.
The European Club Association is not satisfied AFCON organisers would implement strict protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at next month’s tournament, and they will block their players from attending over a lack of measures in place to stop them catching coronavirus in Cameroon.
Rangers have Nigerian international trio Joe Aribo, Leon Balogun and Calvin Bassey as part of their squad, and while the Super Eagles have a new manager in place after parting ways with Gernot Rohr, both the midfielder and centre-back are expected to remain part of the set-up going forward.
Good news?
The Light Blues trio risk missing out on the Old Firm clash against Celtic on January 2 as FIFA rules mandate clubs to release their players on December 27 ahead of the competition which starts on January 9.
However, ECA has said that players would not be released for countries until after their clubs’ final matches before the tournament began, and that should see Giovanni van Bronckhorst be able to call on his key players for the Parkhead trip.
ECA insists that players would only be released for the tournament in Cameroon if organisers up their safety measures so as to ensure players do not contract the virus, if players would not miss club matches upon their return as a result of quarantine rules and if they are allowed to play their clubs’ final matches before the tournament kick off.
Nigeria begin action on January 11 and that could see the Rangers trio miss a couple of key games depending on how far they advance.
The Bears are out of action between January 2 and 22 due to the winter break, resuming with a Scottish Cup fourth-round tie.
However, with the AFCON final set for February 6, GvB could be without Balogun, Aribo and Bassey for the Cup clash and Premiership games against Livingston, Ross County and Hearts.
Given that the Covid-19 crisis has deepened due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the disease, it is understandable if Rangers and their counterparts want assurance before releasing their players for the AFCON, and the organisers could be forced to postpone it if they are unable to comply.
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