Ligue 1 club Nantes have confirmed they will not release Nigeria winger Moses Simon for this month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho, Competesports.com reports.
Simon, 24, was included in Nigeria’s squad for the double-header by head coach Gernot Rohr last week.
Rohr will now have to name a replacement for the former KAA Gent of France player following the decision of his French club not not allow him honour the invitation.
The French government has imposed a seven-day quarantine for any person who travels out of Europe and Nantes who, are fighting relegation in Ligue 1 are not willing to lose one of their key stars during a crucial part of the campaign.
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“Like several clubs in France, FC Nantes will not release its selected international players for matches outside the European area during the next international break scheduled for the end of March,”reads a statement on the club website.
“In the absence of health guarantees in accordance with the requirements of the French government in force to date, FC Nantes will not be able to release its internationals outside the limits of the European space.
“This decision, based on FIFA circular 1749 of February 5, is justified by the return protocol imposed on travelers who have traveled outside the European Union, who must in particular respect a seven-day isolation.
“The players concerned would also be unable to take part in the match of the 31st day of Ligue 1 Uber Eats, scheduled for Sunday April 4, between FC Nantes and OGC Nice.
Simon scored the winning goal for Nantes in last Sunday’s 2-1 away win against champions Paris Saint-Germain.
By Adeboye Amosu
3 Comments
We said the same thing that applied to Benin could affect us some ignorant people said otherwise. Thank God majority of our players are not in France.
Assuming u Invite EJUKE on standby in initial list, he would have b better replacement 4 M.Simon.
ONUACHU cannot play more than d way he has played before. National team football is different from club football.
Oga ROHR don’t b carried away.
**DON’T U know MARIO JADEL(Brazil) OF sporting Lisbon***
You’re right Tun. I think Rohr’s reason in not selecting him might be partly due to the fact that the Russian Premier League just started resumption a couple of weeks ago, so I guess he might have considered his fitness level might not be up to those that have been in match day squads since January.
Bro don’t give up on Onuachu..Remember when Ighalo started entering our team he wasn’t really thought of but with time he developed his game to such a point we couldn’t do without him..
Paul has scored a lot of goals in an European league ,if anything he has a nose for where the goal is.. And to me that’s the toughest skill in football “FINISHING “