Yesterday, Aston Villa confirmed that they would block
Nakamba from travelling to Zimbabwe for the two matches.
He is one of the three players that the English Premier
League side barred from representing their countries at the end of this month.
The other players that have been blocked are goalkeeper Emi
Martinez (Argentina) and Douglas Luiz of Brazil.
The countries are among the 32 red-listed nations which
have had travel bans placed on them by the British government.
It means should people travel to and from those red-listed
countries then each person will have to self-isolate at an airport hotel for 10
days upon their arrival.
“I’ve sat down with all three of them and it’s our right to
stop them from travelling to a red list zone,” said Aston Villa coach Dean
Smith.
“They’re disappointed because they want to represent their
countries but they understand as well. I’m pretty sure all Premier League teams
will stop players from going to red-list zones where they’re required to
self-isolate for 10 days in a hotel when they get back. All three players are
aware of Aston Villa’s stance on travelling to a red-list zone.”
Smith added: “At the end of the day, the football clubs are
the wage payers to these players and we’ve never stood in the way and we’ve
always celebrated players being international footballers.
“We will continue to do so but, such is the world is at the
moment when Fifa and Uefa are telling you that you don’t have to allow your
players to go to red-list zones then it’s only right to take them up on that.”
There is, however, some relief for Warriors coach Zdravko
Logarušić after Belgian side KAS Eupen confirmed this week that they will
release captain Knowledge Musona for international duty.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva has revealed he is
excited and buzzing after receiving a recall into the senior national team for
this month’s two Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers. Newsday
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