Chelsea's Malang Sarr allowed to represent Porto in Champions League clash

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 Chelsea loanee Malang Sarr cannot be prevented from playing against his parent club for Porto in the Champions League quarter-finals, sources have confirmed to The Athletic.

Sarr will have the opportunity to help Porto eliminate Chelsea, the club who signed him from Nice on a free transfer last summer before sending him to Portugal, and could make his Stamford Bridge debut as an opposition player in the second leg of the tie on April 13.

Loanees are routinely prevented from playing against their parent club in the Premier League, but UEFA prevent similar arrangements being made in their competitions.

Chelsea will travel to Porto for the first leg of the quarter-finals on April 7.

Why could Sarr have been prevented from playing?

It is standard practice in English football for loan players to sit out matches against their parent club, with clauses written into loan agreements sanctioned by the Premier League and Football Association.

Chelsea would likely have insisted on the same with Sarr and any of their other loanees who represent European clubs if UEFA did not explicitly forbid doing so.

Has Chelsea been in a similar situation before?

The most memorable example of this is when Chelsea were drawn to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals in 2013-14.

Thibaut Courtois was on loan at the Spanish club, where he had established himself as one of Europe’s best goalkeepers, and Chelsea’s manager at the time Jose Mourinho lobbied his club to try to prevent the Belgian from being able to play in the tie.

In response to numerous media reports about the situation, UEFA took the highly unusual step of issuing a statement clarifying their position which read: “The integrity of sporting competition is a fundamental principle for UEFA.

“Both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations contain clear provisions which strictly forbid any club to exert, or attempt to exert, any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match.

“It follows that any provision in a private contract between clubs which might function in such a way as to influence who a club fields in a match is null, void and unenforceable so far as UEFA is concerned.

“Furthermore, any attempt to enforce such a provision would be a clear violation of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and would therefore be sanctioned accordingly.”

Courtois played in the tie and confirmed Mourinho’s worst fears, performing superbly as Atletico eliminated Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea, having gone through the Courtois experience, never attempted to prevent Sarr being eligible for this tie.

What is Sarr’s history with Chelsea?

Last summer Chelsea saw off competition from several other interested clubs around Europe to sign Sarr, who left Nice as a free agent after making more than 100 Ligue 1 appearances for the club and establishing himself as one of the most promising young defenders in France.

On signing him, Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “The opportunity to sign Malang was one we could not miss. He is a tremendous prospect and we will be monitoring him closely during his loan period, hoping he will soon be back at Chelsea.”

A left-footed, left-sided centre-back, Sarr has represented France at every youth level from Under-16 to Under-21 and Chelsea have high hopes for his development, though it is not yet clear if he will get a chance to establish a place in their first-team squad next season.

What does Sarr offer Porto?

Sarr is not a regular starter for Porto, with coach Sergio Conceicao favouring 38-year-old Pepe and former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba as his first-choice centre-back pairing this season.

But he has featured relatively consistently in the club’s Champions League run, performing impressively alongside Mbemba in a goalless draw with Manchester City in the group stage and coming on as a substitute in the second half of Porto’s heroic elimination of Juventus in Turin in the round of 16.

He is a mobile, physical defender who does not wilt in big matches

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