Players from AS Roma and Fiorentina have been barred from leaving the country by local authorities to play in upcoming international matches because of COVID-19 infections at the two clubs, Italian media said on Sunday. The ANSA news agency said players from Fiorentina would not be allowed to travel after the club announced on Friday that forward Jose Callejon had tested positive for COVID-19. It said the order had come from the local regional authority in Tuscany which had told the entire Fiorentina squad to self-isolate at their homes for 10 days, except to go to and from training. The Gazzetta dello Sport said that a similar order had been made by AS Roma's local health authority after forward Edin Dzeko tested positive. Fiorentina were reported as having 13 players called up for international matches including Erick Pulgar (Chile), Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) and Serbian pair Nikola Milenkovic and Dusan Vlahovic. Serbia host Scotland in a Euro 2020 playoff on Thursday while Chile face Peru and Venezuela in World Cup qualifiers over the next 10 days. Roma players who could be affected include Albanian defender Marash Kumbulla and Armenian midfield Henrikh Mkhitaryan, plus several players called up by Italy. There was no immediate comment from either club. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
