Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hits out at ‘farce’ that could see Brazilian players banned

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Leeds are due to be without key players

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces the prospect of being without Fred this weekend (Phil Noble/PA)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer called it a “farce” that Premier League clubs remained unsure if they could field their Brazilian stars this weekend as the row over their refusal to release them for international duty continued.

As it stood on Friday lunchtime, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Leeds were due to be without key players after the Brazilian federation asked FIFA to enforce rules preventing players from playing for five days if they failed to report for international duty.