Olympic qualifier drama as China team quarantined

THE Matildas’ Olympic qualifiers have been thrown into fresh chaos after health officials at Brisbane Airport put the Chinese team into isolation.

Days after the qualifying games were switched from Wuhan to Sydney because of the coronavirus epidemic originating in the Chinese city, the whole Chinese squad and support staff are being confined to their Brisbane hotel. They can have no contact with other guests until at least Wednesday.

Australia is due to play China on Sunday week at Parramatta, in what is expected to be the pivotal game of a mini tournament also featuring Taiwan and Thailand. But China is due to play its first game against Thailand on Monday.

It arrived with an already weakened squad after four players were caught in China’s lockdown of Wuhan. The four included experienced midfielder Wang Shuang and young star Yao Wei, but the entire squad had been training in Wuhan and Queensland Health officials ruled they must be isolated immediately.

“(This is) to ensure they are appropriately isolated from other guests as well as staff and to ensure protocols are put in placeplace to check their health and to keep them well,” Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said.

It remains unclear what will happen if the isolation period continues into next week.

Football Federation Australia may seek special dispensation from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation to allow the tournament to continue with a slight delay.

It’s understood FFA officials are liaising with the government to work through possible scenarios, but the schedule of games is already tight with each team due to play on Monday, Thursday and Sunday next week. The Chinese team was isolated after training in Wuhan for a week in anticipation of the games being played there, as originally scheduled.