Dallas out after 10 players test positive
Major League Soccer’s plans were already up in the air when the Vancouver Whitecaps took off on their charter flight from Vancouver International Airport on Monday ... and they were definitely very different after the team arrived in Orlando on Monday evening.
Two days after their MLS Is Back tournament match versus the Whitecaps was postponed, FC Dallas is now out of the tournament altogether.
League officials announced Dallas’ withdrawal Monday afternoon, a move that seemed inevitable after 10 Dallas players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19. All the positive tests occurred either upon the team’s arrival in Orlando last week or in the days following.
It’s not known how this will affect the Whitecaps’ group, which also features Seattle and San Jose. A team spokesperson said the league’s decision was still so fresh they’d not yet received any further information from the league.
“The decision was made in the best interest of the health of all players and staff participating in the tournament, and in line with protocols created in conjunction with local and national health authorities and infectious disease experts,” MLS said in a statement posted to its website.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber told ESPN’s Tom Marshall that the number of Dallas players who were now going to have to quarantine would make it impossible for them to safely take part in the tournament, which is supposed to kick off on Thursday.
“It was our view that with as many Dallas players that have tested positive, they have to go into quarantine, it would not allow them to train and would put them into a position where they wouldn’t be able to compete in the tournament and do so in a way that would be within our protocol,” Garber said.
ESPN’s Taylor Twellman suggested afterwards he believed further matches would be postponed and that teams who are yet to arrive likely wouldn’t play any sooner than July 13.
Coach Marc Dos Santos’ Whitecaps were originally set to face Dallas on Wednesday, meaning the Whitecaps’ first game isn’t scheduled until July 15 versus San Jose.
As of Monday afternoon, 557 players had arrived at the league’s centralized hub in Orlando. Just three players beyond Dallas’ 10 have tested positive for COVID -19 in Orlando.