There is no championship that is not affected by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the omicron variant. French football is no exception and the situation reaches such an extreme that Girondins de Bordeaux have 21 players affected, while Angers has 19.
Bordeaux, led by Vladimir Petkovic, is in the draw, hence the request for the suspension of the round of 16 match of the French Cup scheduled for Sunday at Brest.
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In a harsh statement, Bordeaux criticized the French Federation (FFF). “Why do you want to keep holding this French Cup match at all costs when 16 of our players are in solitary confinement?”
Bordeaux also wonders “why the French Football Federation does not show more flexibility in this matter? Can we rejoice in the positive image of the Coupe de France when a professional club travels with a group made up mostly of players from its subsidiary ? How far will the ridiculous end “
“Unfortunately all these questions have not found, for the moment, a favorable response in the Federation”, concludes Bordeaux.
Gérard Lopez, president of the club, will continue to dialogue with the FFF “because it is essential to preserve the sporting interest of the competition. Teams cannot be subject to this health hazard that skews the deal.”
Bordeaux already had problems and was thrashed by Lille
Already on December 22, the celebration of Bordeaux’s Ligue 1 match against Lille was threatened by the appearance of nine positives in its squad. However, it was finally possible to play since Vladimir Petkovic was able to have 21 players, one more than the limit established in this case by the French Professional Football League.
The nine positives in question affected Rémi Oudin, Dilan Bakwa, Stian Gregersen, Issouf Sissokho, Sekou Mara, Enock Kwateng, Tom Lacoux, Edson Mexer and substitute goalkeeper Gaëtan Poussin.
Angers, with 19 positives
As for Angers, today they announced that 19 players and five team members have tested positive and are asking the French League (LFP) to suspend their next match, scheduled for January 9 against Saint-Étienne in the Ligue 1, being eliminated from the French Cup.
“To date we have identified 19 positive cases in the list of 30 players deposited with the LFP, of which more than 10 will not be able to play a game before January 10,” argue Angers.
Five players initially tested positive and were excluded from the league match against Montpellier on December 22, which ended in a severe 4-1 defeat for Angers. These players were placed in solitary confinement until December 31, but are not allowed to resume training until a week later.