July 17, 2022

The brief from today:

Tuchel gives comments on vaccines

Chelsea are currently on a preseason exhibition tour in the US, but two of their first-team players, N’golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, are not part of the traveling contingent. There aren’t any contract disputes with either, nor are there any injury/fitness concerns, the issue is that both players have opted not to get a COVID vaccine. The current CDC guideline that is being used as a mandate for incoming air travelers into the US dictates that if a person is a non-citizen, non-immigrant, visitor to the country, then proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is required before entry is permitted. Initially, Chelsea’s coach, Tuchel’s, stance on the matter was that he respects the players’ rights in deciding whether to get vaccinated or not, which to be fair he hasn’t changed positions on, but he did make some additional comments on the general subject today. When asked whether vaccine status would impact Chelsea’s decision making on signing new players, the German coach said, “Yes, it has to. I knew some players who I would also take without vaccination. I have to say, but yes, it [getting vaccinated] is a part of daily life at the moment. We cannot force [players to get vaccinated]. It is at the moment a very normal decision to get vaccinated. Both players took the decision not to. We need to follow the rules. They cannot join us. They know about the consequences.” The vaccine matter is a polarizing one, and while Tuchel says he respects his players’ decisions, clearly the impact it’s having on his selection options is making his tone sound a bit less diplomatic. While absent, both Kante and Loftus-Cheek are training with the Chelsea U-23 team, which Tuchel says “will not compensate”, and is not the same as training with the senior side. Whether all of this will impact their roles going forward is something to watch as the new Premier League season approaches.

Tuchel has some vaccine concerns

Innovation match in Germany

FC Koln hosted AC Milan in a preseason friendly, and there was a technological twist to the proceedings. For the match, some Koln players and officials wore body cams, and were also mic’d up. It was called an Innovation match in Germany, and while there are no immediate plans to implement this feature in official matches, it was a novel approach. Koln defender, Timo Hubers, was one mic’d up player with a body cam, and the vantage point he provided, while not as expansive as regular TV coverage, was certainly more immersive. Being able to see the player’s view of a match obviously has some appeal so it will interesting to see where else this is adopted, and to what extent it is utilized. As for the match, the hosts lost to Milan 1-2 as they continue to prepare for the start of the Bundesliga.