The (bad) news fell in the morning: two members of the staff tested positive for Covid-19 before the trip to Lyon. They are the head coach, Oscar Garcia, and his assistant and Spanish compatriot, Ruben Martinez. The latter had mild symptoms which led him to be tested. The test having come back positive, all the staff was also tested for security, so Oscar Garcia also saw his sample turn positive. The two men, who are doing well, have been placed in solitary confinement and will have to follow the classic protocol for people positive for Covid 19. A period of 7 days which should keep them away from the sidelines in Lyon this Wednesday and against Angers next Sunday.
No player affected
All the players and the rest of the staff were also tested to quickly see if other members of the group are affected. The results communicated on Tuesday are all negative, but in all likelihood, new tests on the whole group will be carried out before next Sunday’s match against Angers.
As a reminder, the LFP no longer requires systematic tests before matches provided that the players are vaccinated. Only this type of situation for a member of the team or in the close entourage of the club recognized as positive, leads to a vast campaign of tests in the group in order to curb the possible spread of the virus and avoid a cluster.
On the other hand, the health protocol of the LFP remains very strict if several players or staff members are positive before a match: a club must have a minimum of 20 players including a goalkeeper from the official list of 30 players communicated at the start of the season by the club to the LFP. If this is not the case, the match is postponed and most often the match which follows also in order to respect the 10-day deadline to avoid any new contagions.
Oscar Garcia and his assistant will therefore not be on the sidelines in Lyon this Wednesday. His other assistants, Joao Nuno Fonseca, Sébastien Hamel (goalkeeper coach) and Mickaël D’Amore will be in charge. Even if the Spanish technician will not fail to be in direct contact from his home in Reims with his sideline in Lyon …