The main soccer leagues and tournaments in Europe are being directly affected by the increase in coronavirus infections registered in recent weeks in all countries of the continent, which is forcing federations to suspend numerous matches.
Chaos in Serie A
The Bologna, which has been banned from competing due to the high number of players positive for coronavirus, did not go to the Renato Dall’Ara stadium to play the Serie A match against him Inter de Milan, who did jump into the field and, in principle, will win the administrative duel 3-0. The program of this January 6, a holiday in Italy, is severely affected by the increase in infections registered in recent weeks and Along with Bologna-Inter, three other games cannot be played: Atalanta-Torino, Salernitana-Venice and Fiorentina-Udinese.
The Serie A League has not announced measures and the aforementioned matches are officially confirmed, so the teams that do not attend will lose 3-0 administratively and could face a penalty point in the classification. Of course, in recent years, in similar cases, Serie A ended up granting clubs affected by coronavirus infections the possibility of contesting their commitments on another date.
The Bundesliga, at risk
The start of the second round in the Bundesliga is in danger after the numerous positives registered by the Bayern Munich after returning to training. A total of nine players of the champion contracted Covid, which is a major setback just one day after having to face Gladbach in what would be the return of the highest German competition after the winter break. Bundesliga regulations state that if a team has at least 16 players available, the match must be played. Faced with the plague of positives, coach Julian Nagelsmann has turned to six players from the quarry and the 35-year-old veteran Nicolas Feldhahn, currently captain of the second team that plays in the fourth category of German football.
Postponed four matches in France
The French Professional Football League (LFP) confirmed on Thursday the postponement of four first division matches scheduled for this Saturday due to the high number of positive cases among its players: Lorient-Lille, Caen-Chamois Niortais, Dunkerque-Paris FC and Amiens-Ajaccio have been delayed to a date yet to be confirmed.
The first to be confirmed was the LOSC Lille match against FC Lorient, which has been postponed at the request of Lorient, where twelve players and two technicians have tested positive for COVID-19, including the coach, Christophe Pélissier, while in the Lille there are eight cases.
Arsenal-Liverpool postponed
The first leg of the League Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool, which was to be played this Thursday, has been postponed due to the high number of cases from Jürgen Klopp’s team. The first leg will be played at Anfield on January 13, while the second leg will be played at the Emirates Stadium on January 20.
Outbreak at Benfica
A new outbreak of covid worries Benfica, which this Thursday already has four players who will not play Sunday’s game against Paços de Ferreira after testing positive: captain Pizzi, Ukrainian Yaremchuk, Serbian Radonjic and team B goalkeeper Mile Svilar.