“We hoped for a successful restart, but life makes its own adjustments”: coronavirus detected in six Rostov players

“This is force majeure”

Tests for the coronavirus of six Rostov football players revealed abnormalities. According to the press service of the club, at the moment they are isolated from the rest of the team.

“The priority for Rostov is the health of footballers and staff, as well as the safety of competitions. Therefore, the club immediately informed the leadership of relevant departments, RFU and RPL, and also took all measures to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infection, recommended by Rospotrebnadzor, ”the club said in a statement.

The names of the affected players are not called, however, the famous commentator and insider Nobel Arustamyan said that we are talking about defenders Arseniy Logashov and Dennis Khadzhikadunich, as well as midfielders Roman Eremenko, Khoren Bayramyan, Ivelin Popov and Matthias Normanne.

In total, they had direct contact with 42 club employees, including other football players and coaching staff members, in connection with which the whole team was sent to quarantine for two weeks.

The current situation was also commented by the president of “Rostov” Artashes Harutyunyants. He assured that the club is in close contact with the RFU and RPL, and also wished the sick people to recover.

"Rostov" was and remains a supporter of the resumption of the championship. Previously, we supported this decision of the RFU and RPL. Our team was preparing for the match in Sochi, we hoped for a successful restart. But life makes its own adjustments. We have six patients. This is force majeure, ”said Harutyunyants.

At the time of publication, the RPL did not make an official statement regarding the match of the 23rd round scheduled for June 19, in which Sochi was to host Rostov. However, according to media reports, the meeting will not take place. At the same time, wards of Vladimir Fedotov continue to prepare for the duel in the normal mode.

The RFU regulation does not provide for the possibility of postponement of a match if one of the teams fails to appear. In this case, she must be credited with a technical defeat.

However, sports lawyer Mikhail Prokopets hastened to assure that the coronavirus was recognized by the International Football Federation (FIFA) as force majeure, because of which teams have the right to skip games. In this regard, in his opinion, the award of a technical defeat in the current situation will become "illegal and immoral."

“You need to find the time to postpone these matches - you can move the start of the next season by agreeing with UEFA and FIFA. Moreover, there are cup dates, other reserve days, and UEFA will enter the situation. Everything needs to be done to finish the matches. My forecast is that Rostov will avoid technical defeats, this is an extreme measure. People will not come to the game specifically, so the situation requires flexibility, ”the Championship quotes Prokopts.

"The RPL season should be played out"

The RPL also intends to hold the remaining matches on schedule, but the RFU does not intend to prematurely terminate the championship due to the outbreak of coronavirus in Rostov. Many experts also advocated its continuation. So, the former striker of the Russian national team Dmitry Bulykin called the current situation serious, but emphasized that the places in the standings should certainly be allocated according to the sporting principle.

“It is clear that the priority should be the health of the players, I have no doubt that it will be so, but, in any case, I think we need to play - the championship should not only be resumed, but also brought to an end,” RIA Novosti quoted Bulykin as saying. .

The honorary president of the RFU, Vyacheslav Koloskov, and the chairman of the Association of Domestic Football Coaches (OOTF) Mikhail Gershkovich remained in solidarity with him. And the former Rostov coach Sergei Balakhnin suggested that the team’s possible skipping of a number of matches would jeopardize the holding of the entire tournament.

“Then the sporting principle will not be respected. It turns out that the “Rostov” does not fall into the European competition? A very bad situation, and not only for them, but in general. In Rostov-on-Don, the situation with the pandemic is turbulent; the statistics of the diseased are not decreasing. And recently, many people have stopped wearing masks. Before, everyone adhered to the rules, but now they’ve relaxed early, ”complained Balakhnin.

At the same time, Andrei Sozin, a member of the RFU Ethics Committee, expressed concern that the majority would nevertheless support the abolition of the RPL, which should not be allowed. He criticized Rostov and called for an investigation and punishment of violators of the regulations.

“What happened in Rostov is a crime against Russia and our people. The resumption of RPL for the country is a breath of fresh air, we have experienced so many things during this virus. Rostov needed to be attentive three times, everything was planned - how, when and how much to prepare, how to take tests, where to go and where not. Why has the whole world already begun to play normally, and they have six cases of infection? Either they didn’t comply with the norms, or the guys went to the city to hang out! What, the bat flew into the locker room and bit everyone? Let them tell how it happened, ”the Championship quotes Sozin.

Journalist Vasily Utkin also expressed doubt that the team had taken all the precautions and called for the championship to be held in empty stands. At the moment, stadiums can be filled at 10% of their capacity.

“It was premature and dangerous, and now all the dangers materialize. The UEFA leader just said out loud: according to the situation at the moment, we can’t decide on the admission of spectators to the Champions League matches in August. In August! I really want to let the audience go. To everyone. Spaniards, Germans ... Us. Who is the most organized? We? No. There are a couple of days to hear the voice of reason, ”Utkin wrote.