Bosnian FA insists Euro play-off game against NI still on despite outbreak

THE Bosnian FA have insisted that this month’s Euro 2020 play-off match with Northern Ireland will proceed as planned and will not be affected by the recent outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.

Fears had grown that the game could be played behind closed doors or even postponed following the country’s first confirmed cases of the Covid-19 strain in Banka Luka, which is around 100 kilometres from Zenica, where the game is scheduled to take place on March 26.

However, despite these concerns, a Bosnian FA executive committee met in Sarajevo yesterday and determined that their stance of the game would not change and that the match will proceed as scheduled.

According to Bosnian sports journalist Haris Mrkonja on Twitter: “(The) Bosnian FA did not talk about scenarios in case of a wider spread of #COVID-19 in today’s assembly. They stand by the previous statement to follow instructions from UEFA and authorities.”

In a follow-up tweet, Mrkonja added that there was “Still no risk of the match being played behind closed doors, or being cancelled altogether.”

One more case of the coronavirus was confirmed in Banka Luka yesterday afternoon, bringing the country’s confirmed cases to three, and Bosnian health minister Alen Seranic explained in a statement that more cases are expected.

A large proportion of Bosnian nationals commute to work across the Adriatic Sea in Italy, where over 3,000 cases have been confirmed.