Competitions
Throughout the world, the threat of coronavirus continues to grow, which cannot but affect sports. So, over the past few days it became known about the postponement of a number of competitions, and a representative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that the Summer Games in Tokyo are unlikely to start on schedule. In addition, the number of infected with COVID-19 is growing, including Fatih Terim, a coach of the Galatasaray football club, and Fernando Martin Alvarez, former president of Real Madrid.
Over the past few weeks, the organizers of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have continued to remain firm on the issue of rescheduling competitions. The organizing committee has repeatedly assured that the situation is under control and the championship will be held on schedule, but the athletes themselves were not sure that they would be safe. As a result, many federations called on the IOC to postpone the Games for a more favorable time, and over the last day their number has replenished the NOCs of the USA and Switzerland.
Apparently, the IOC still surrendered. According to the representative of the committee, Richard Pound, the decision to postpone the Olympics has already been taken, and the matter remains only with the official announcement. At the same time, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said that so far it is not known about when the announcement will be made, nor about the new dates for the start of the Summer Games 2020.
At the same time, the IOC press service did not confirm Pound's statement on changes in the timing of the Games.
“Each member of the IOC has the right to interpret the decision of the executive committee, which was announced yesterday,” RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
At the same time, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) officially announced that the finals of the Champions League and the Europa League this season will not take place at the end of May. Initially, the successor of Liverpool in the rank of the strongest club in the Old World was to be revealed on May 30 in Istanbul, and the owner of the second most important trophy of the continent - on May 27 in Gdansk.
In addition, the Royal Football Federation of Spain issued a statement in which it announced the extension of the pause in the championships under its auspices. The RFEF emphasized that all tournaments will be resumed at a time when health and safety will be guaranteed to all participants in the events, including football players, coaches and fans.
Already on March 24, the Australian Championship replenished the list of temporarily discontinued football championships. Until recently, the A-League continued to function, but due to the increase in the number of infected, the local federation decided to suspend the championship until at least April 22.
Meanwhile, due to the threat of the coronavirus, the leadership of Formula 1 cannot decide on the start date for the new season. Until now, the stages in Australia and Monaco have already been canceled, as well as the Grand Prix of Bahrain, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Spain. On the eve it became known that their number was replenished by the competitions in Azerbaijan, scheduled for early June. At the same time, the organizers assured that there was no question of cancellation, as a result of which there was no need to return tickets.
Sambo fans will have to wait a bit. According to initial data, the European Championship was supposed to be held from May 21 to May 25 in Yekaterinburg, but due to the pandemic, the coronavirus was moved to the second half of September. According to a statement on the official website of the International Sambo Federation (FIAS), the competition will start on the 17th and will end on September 21.
As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, UEFA has today formally postponed the following finals, originally scheduled for May 2020. @ UWCL @ EuropaLeague @ ChampionsLeague
No decision has yet been made on rearranged dates. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Athletes
In parallel with the list of transferred tournaments, the number of people close to sports infected with coronavirus is growing. One of them was the head coach of Galatasaray and the former coach of the Turkish national football team Fatih Terim. He announced this on his Twitter page. The specialist said that he is currently in the "safe hands of doctors" and urged not to worry about his condition. Nevertheless, there are reasons for excitement, because by age, the 66-year-old mentor is at risk.
During his career, Terim led the Galatasaray eight times to victory in the Turkish championship, and in the 1999/00 season he helped the team for the first time in history take the UEFA Cup (an analogue of the Europa League). In addition, Fatih successfully led the national team of the country, with whom he won bronze medals at the championship of the continent of 2008. It is worth noting that a similar award was awarded to the Russian team.
In the meantime, another former president of Real Madrid was in the hospital due to infection. The other day, the epidemic killed Lorenzo Sansa, and now Fernando Martin Alvarez was taken to the intensive care unit of one of the medical institutions in the capital of Spain. The 72-year-old functionary was on the board of directors during the first arrival of Florentino Perez, and after his departure in 2006, he remained at the head of the royal club for two months.
Sad news also came from Catalonia, where the famous goalkeeper and coach Benito Joanet died. A few months ago, he suffered a stroke, after which he contracted a coronavirus. He was 84 years old. A native of Esplugues de Llobregat, he was known for his performances for Espanyol, Deportivo and Zaragoza, and after the end of his career, he led Mallorca, Hercules, Las Palmas and other groups.
Fyodor Smolov, who replenished the Celta squad from Vigo in the winter, also has a hard time. According to Marca, at the moment, the Russian citizen and his teammate Pione Sisto are in quarantine, which is why they are unable to go out and can communicate with loved ones only by phone or via the Internet. Despite the difficulties, athletes continue to fulfill the requirements of the coaching staff and keep fit, but in isolation they will have to spend at least three more weeks.
It is noteworthy that some infected with coronavirus show symptoms that are atypical for infection. This was announced by Utah Jazz basketball player Rudy Gober, the first of the NBA players to pass a positive test for COVID-19. As the French center wrote, four days ago he ceased to distinguish smells and tastes, and since then these feelings have not returned.
But as it became known, such manifestations are observed not only in him. According to the legendary English football player Gary Lineker, his son George, with whom he had been in active contact over the past week, had similar symptoms. The former striker of “Barcelona” and “Tottenham Hotspur” admitted that he tried to observe precautions, but still decided to introduce a regime of self-isolation.
At the same time, some of the previously infected athletes are already recovering. One of these was Utah basketball player Donovan Mitchell, the second of the NBA players to pass a positive coronavirus test. The attacking defender is currently in quarantine, but notes that he has no symptoms of the disease.
The good news was shared by the mentor of Arsenal Mikel Arteta. The Spanish specialist said that he is currently in good health and is confident that he was able to recover from the coronavirus. In a conversation with The Evening Standard, he said that he was most likely infected from one of the representatives of the Greek Olympiacos during the Europa League match, and already before the game with Manchester City he felt unwell. But already on the third or fourth day he felt noticeably better.
It is noteworthy that among the players of the Russian football championship has not yet been recorded a single case of coronavirus infection. According to the doctor of the Tula Arsenal Alexander Rezepov, the reason for this may be the fact that not one of the Russian clubs was able to enter the spring part of the European cups.
“There are no patients in the RPL, primarily because our clubs did not have international matches. Perhaps one of the relatives of the players who returned from abroad fell ill with the virus, but we will find out about this a little later - in a couple of weeks. A quarantine pause is just what you need to identify those who are sick. We are warned where anyone is, and in the coming weeks league players may have symptoms of coronavirus, ”Rezepova quotes the“ Championship ”.