Paris (AFP)

The Paris match in Szeged, counting for the first day of the Handball Champions League, has been postponed due to several cases of Covid-19 in the Hungarian workforce, announced the European Federation (EHF) and the president of the Hungarian team, Tuesday.

The EHF "postponed the Champions League match scheduled for Thursday between Szeged and Paris Saint-Germain, after a member of Szeged's team tested positive for Covid-19," the body said on Tuesday morning in a statement.

Hungarian club president Peter Erno said later Tuesday on Hungarian public broadcaster M4 Sport that following further testing with the team, "a total of five players have been infected".

Before adding: "we do not know if we will have enough fit players to play, or if we will be able to play at all".

The Hungarian club was forced to quarantine, according to the recommendations and on the order of the Hungarian health authorities, specifies the EHF.

Szeged's Hungarian League game scheduled for Saturday has also been postponed, while next week's Champions League fixture against Kiel is also in question.

The body must now find a new date for Thursday's game.

This is the only one of the eight meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday that had to be postponed.

The Covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted the 2019/20 Handball Champions League season: the women's Final 4 was canceled and the men's Final 4 was postponed to December 28 and 29 in Cologne (Germany), the EHF renouncing the 8th and the quarters.

© 2020 AFP