FIFA have announced they won’t penalize clubs for not allowing their respective players to link up with their respective national teams during the international break due to the Coronavirus crisis.
Competitive football in England and all over Europe has been brought to a halt over the past week due to the severity of the coronavirus outbreak.
Chelsea players are currently in self-isolation after Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for Coronavirus.
A statement released by FIFA said: “In light of the current situation concerning the Coronavirus, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided that the general football rules which normally oblige clubs to release players for national team matches will not apply for the up-coming international windows in March/April.
“The situation is rapidly evolving across the world and various international travel restrictions have already been imposed by different public authorities.
“FIFA understands that to hold the matches under current circumstances might not only present potential health risks to players (and to the general public) but would also, most likely, compromise the sporting integrity of such matches insofar as certain teams may be deprived of their best squads whilst others may not.
“To avoid any unnecessary health risks and also situations of potential sporting unfairness, we therefore recommend that all international matches previously scheduled to take place in March and April should now be postponed until such time that they can take place in a safe and secure environment, both for players and for the general public. The final decision on this issue rests with the respective competition organisers or relevant member association in case of friendlies.