Coronavirus fears have caused the postponement of another fixture, and the sequestering of several Arsenal players.
This time it’s the Mikel Arteta-Pep Guardiola reunion at the Etihad Stadium that will have to wait for another date.
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Manchester City and Arsenal announced the postponement of Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET kickoff.
Several Gunners players made contact with Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who has contacted COVID-19, when the sides met in the Europa League.
From Arsenal.com:We identified that a number of players met the Olympiacos owner immediately following the game.
The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing Covid-19 at extremely low. However, we are strictly following the Government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact. ...
The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires. Four Arsenal staff, who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.
The incident was 13 days ago, so players will be free to rejoin their teammates on Thursday.
Wow.
The match had already been rescheduled due to the FA Cup, and there are very few openings left on the calendar for a second reschedule date.
More coronavirus connections to football:
- Serie A is considering alternative ways to conclude its scudetto and relegation races, including playoffs or the non-awarding of a champion.
- Chelsea will visit Bayern Munich at an empty Allianz Arena for a Champions League second leg next week.
- Manchester United’s Europa League game at LASK in Austria will be played behind-closed-doors, and matches in Spain’s La Liga will be played in empty stadiums until early April.
- The San Jose Earthquakes’ next home match, March 21, is 11 days away and the Santa Clara Public Health Department has banned all gatherings over 1000 people.