Euro de hand: insufficient sanitary measures at their hotel in Hungary, according to the Blues

"We were surprised when we arrived. We can see people going in swimsuits to the pool next door," Vincent Gérard told the press on Tuesday.

"We said to ourselves that we did not know if it was really respectful for the players and the staffs", continued the tricolor goalkeeper.

The same goes for Nikola Karabatic, who spoke of "unmasked customers. We eat in the same places as other customers".

The Blues, whose preparation was deeply upset by the Covid-19, will play their first Euro match on Thursday against Croatia.

As of January 6, a player or delegation member who has been (or will be) tested positive is subject to a five-day quarantine period.

In addition, a player who wants to return to the competition will have to present two negative PCR tests.

The coach Guillaume Gille has therefore little tasted this "great gap between the very strict protocol with restrictive measures on our life together and the arrival in a country which is experiencing the pandemic in a very different way".

"All the work done upstream to achieve full squad with a negative group is a bit undermined by the organization on the spot," regretted the coach.

"I hope that our feedback to the organizer and the EHF (European Handball Federation) will help to regulate the thing very quickly, because it is not acceptable," he said.

During the Euro, which will be played in Hungary and Slovakia, the halls of the three Hungarian cities of Budapest (20,022 seats), Szeged (8,143 seats) and Debrecen (6,500 seats) will have a capacity of 100%.

Spectators over twelve years old must present a certificate of immunity (vaccination or recovery from Covid-19) or a PCR test lasting less than 72 hours and the wearing of a mask concerns spectators over six years old.

These measures contrast with Slovakia where the tonnage is reduced to 25%.

Hungary is among the countries where the pandemic has claimed the most deaths relative to its population, behind Bosnia and Peru, with more than 40,000 deaths, according to WHO figures, or around 4,100 deaths per million. 'inhabitants.

© 2022 AFP