BUNDESLIGA PLANS ON DESPITE POSITIVE TESTS

FRANKFURT: Bundesliga restart is not at risk even after the entire squad of second-tier Dynamo Dresden was placed under quarantine, the head of the German Football League (DFL) said. Dynamo were asked to self-isolate for 14 days after two new Covid-19 cases.

The blow came just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government gave the green light for the Bundesliga season to resume on May 16 following a two-month absence. But DFL boss Christian Seifert downplayed the Dynamo setback. “It’s not a reason to call the entire season into question,” he told German broadcaster ZDF.

Matches will be played behind closed doors and with a maximum number of 300 people, including both teams, allowed at each game. In the run-up to the restart, all teams must go into a one-week quarantine training camp. Seifert, however, said that although he saw no problem right now, further cases could throw a spanner in the works.

The quarantine means that Dynamo, who are bottom of the second division, will not be able to play their fixture against Hanover next weekend.

FIVE CASES IN SPAIN

MADRID: Five players in Spain’s top two divisions have tested positive since clubs began testing players and staff members last week. La Liga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again “in the next few days”. Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro said on Saturday he had tested positive.

In England, a third first-team player from Brighton tested positive, the Premier League club confirmed. Two Brighton players had contracted the virus in March and April and the latest positive result could cast doubts on the league’s plans to resume the season.