Unvaccinated Chelsea players could be barred from match at Lille

Chelsea may be forced to leave at home any players not vaccinated against coronavirus for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Lille in March.

France has toughened its Covid rules and there is now no exemption for unvaccinated professional athletes wishing to enter the country.

Uefa released a statement on Thursday saying that teams would be required “in principle” to abide by applicable rules in any country.

Uefa is yet to publish its updated regulations for the knockout phases of its three men’s club competitions, which it says will provide “further guidance”.

The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has previously stated he wants to “piss off” unvaccinated people by limiting their access to public places such as bars, cinemas and restaurants.

It seems unlikely Uefa – whose president Aleksander Ceferin has emphatically stated his support for vaccination – would undermine the French approach by insisting on matches being moved to a neutral venue to get around the rules.