Chelsea and Liverpool could see their Champions League last-16 away ties against Lille and Inter Milan moved to neutral venues as UEFA are reluctant to endorse the compulsory vaccination rules set to be introduced by the French and Italian governments.
Under the new regulations that will come into force later this month, all professional and amateur sportspeople in France and Italy must have a Covid passport to enter venues — which could have an impact on player availability given the lower vaccination rates among some Premier League clubs.
UEFA sources have indicated that at this stage there are no plans to rewrite their rules to make vaccination compulsory, not least as the availability and take-up of vaccines varies considerably across Europe so any Chelsea or Liverpool players who have not been jabbed before next month’s ties would be treated as if they had tested positive for Covid.