Romeo Lavia: Why Chelsea Star Is Blocked from Playing in Conference League Final
- Romeo Lavia will be unavailable for Chelsea on May 28 when they take on Real Betis in the Conference League final
- The Belgian has only played 18 times this season, with Enzo Maresca managing his minutes carefully when he is fit
- However, despite being fit and available to feature in the final, the midfielder will have to watch from the stands due to UEFA rules
Chelsea will tonight play Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final at Wroclaw Stadium in Poland.
Source: Getty Images
European club finals this season
This will be the third UEFA club cup final this season after Tottenham beat Manchester United in the Europa League and Arsenal Women stunned Barcelona Femeni in the Women's Champions League.
Chelsea will be the overwhelming favourites as they were when they qualified for this competition last year, but they will face their most difficult test yet against the Spanish side.
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Why Romeo Lavia is banned from UEFA Conference League final
The task is set to become even harder as they will be without a key player who is banned from taking part due to UEFA rules. Romeo Lavia will have to sit in the stands as he's not eligible to play in the competition.
The Belgian was one of the names Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca omitted from the initial squad when the Blues were playing in the league phase last year.
Lavia has had his own fair share of injuries, and the club has been managing his minutes all season.
Clubs normally have the opportunity to update their squads after the January window, but Lavia was once again omitted from the revised squad.
He will therefore be unavailable as clubs cannot alter the players in their List A once submitted, but are allowed to make changes to List B throughout the campaign.
Source: Getty Images
UEFA Conference League squad registrations
So, what is List A, and what is List B, and why can Lavia not just be added to the latter and play in the final?
List A has a maximum of 25 players who are either 'association-trained' or 'locally-trained' players.
This is usually a reserve for the players the club has bought over the years. Chelsea's list is dominated by their big-money midfield duo Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, among others.
For List B, there is no maximum as clubs are allowed to register an unlimited number of players until the night before the game.
However, for one to qualify for List B, they must have been born on or after 1 January 2003 and have been at the club for more than two years.
"A player may be registered on List B if he is born on or after 1 January 2003 and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year," reads UEFA documents.
Lavia, despite being born after 2003, is not eligible to be added to this list, as he has not been at Chelsea for more than two years. Additionally, he cannot be added to List A, as the deadline has already passed.
How Chelsea will cope without Romeo Lavia
The former Southampton midfielder has shown his quality in the few games he has played, and Maresca would have loved to have him available.
However, the Italian tactician has had to do without him for long periods this season, and luckily for him, Caicedo and Fernandez are in the best shape since they joined the Blues.
Will Romeo Lavia get a medal?
Most probably. The winning team in UEFA club competitions gets 50 medals, which the club distributes to players as they see fit. Chelsea's squad doesn't have more than 50 players, which means Lavia will get a medal, though he won't be recognised as an official winner.
Players on loan, like João Félix and Renato Veiga, could also get a medal as they played a part in the league phase before they moved on.
Will Mykhailo Mudryk get a medal if Chelsea win?
In a separate report, Mykhailo Mudryk will get a medal if Chelsea beat Real Betis in the Conference League final.
Mudryk remains suspended and unavailable for Chelsea after returning a positive drug test last year.
The Ukrainian winger is expected to be in the stadium to support his teammates.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
