The resurgence of coronavirus sees football threatened once again
Cases across Spanish football are putting competitions at risk
26 positives at Fuenlabrada. One at Real Madrid. One at Almeria. One at Sevilla. One at Real Zaragoza. Since the first case of a footballer with coronavirus on July 20, the situation at a number of Spanish clubs has got worse and complicated their participation in games that have to be played in Spain and in Europe.
Fuenlabrada-Deportivo
Everything began when four members of the Fuenlabrada setup tested positive before travelling to A Coruña for the final game of the season in the Spanish second division. Despite those four staying in Madrid, the possibilty of contagion across the club forced the game to be suspended, provoking an unusual situation as both Fuenlabrada and Deportivo La Coruña had things riding on their fixture.
As the days have passed, the situation has got worse on all sides. The positives at the Madrid club have reached 26 -- with one person in hospital -- and the match remains suspended despite calls from Depor, Numancia, Extremadura, Racing, Elche and Rayo Vallecano for the final round of fixtures to be completely replayed. Not even the three organisations involved in the decision making, the CSD, LaLiga and RFEF, have shown a unified stance.
MORE POSITIVES
The suspension of Fuenlabrada-Deportivo meant the former missed out on the playoffs and the latter was relegated. It appeared to open the door for Elche to enter the playoffs. However, the playoffs themselves have not been thrown in to doubt due to positive cases at two of the clubs in the semifinals: Almeria and Real Zaragoza. Both teams have one posibie case... pending further tests among the rest of the squad.
DANGER IN EUROPE
It's not just the second division where there are Covid-19 cases. Real Madrid ocnfirmed on Tuesday that Mariano Diaz has contracted the virus, although he is isolating as his teammates continue to train ahead of the Champions League game against Manchester City next week.
Finally, Sevilla have revealed a player has tested positive, forcing training to be suspended as they prepare for Roma in the Europa League next week.
FEAR OF SECOND WAVE
All these cases come as the situation becomes complicated across Spain. With more and more outbreaks of the virus -- and the possibility of a second wave -- alarm bells are ringing with the big European competitions still to be completed.
Barça's game against Napoli on Aug. 8 is not in danger in theory but it's staging at Camp Nou will depend on Catalonia's capacity to control the recent outbreaks. In the same way, UEFA are monitoring the situation the Basque Country, which is set to host the women's Champions League next month.
There's a lot going on, which reflects the complicated situation Spanish and European football is facing right now -- as well as society in general. The fight against the pandemic continues and football is not estranged from it.
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