The Belarusian Football Association still has no plans to halt the competition due to the corona virus. Secretary General Sergei Zhardetski believes that the situation in the country is not serious enough to take such a measure.
“We look at the situation every day,” Zhardetski says in conversation with ESPN. “But we fully rely on our health authorities and therefore see no reason to end the competition for the time being.”
The Belarusian league is the only league in Europe that has not been shut down due to the corona virus. This seems to be mainly due to the attitude of President Alexander Lukashenko, who does not take the COVID-19 virus seriously.
In the meantime, 351 confirmed infections have already been recorded in Belarus and four people have died from the effects of the coronavirus. All international sports matches of Belarusian teams have already been canceled, but the national football competition continues.
“The situation is not serious enough”
The international players’ union FIFPro also expressed strong criticism of the Belarusian football association at the beginning of this week because it is just played through football, but it does not seem to be doing anything.
“We recognize that the situation is dire in some countries, but authorities say our competition can continue as usual,” Zhardetski emphasizes. “That other countries are critical is so. The situation here is simply not serious enough.”
The third round has started in the so-called Vysheyshaya Liga. On Saturday, the games Soligorsk-Neman, BATE-Rukh Brest and Brest-Slavia Mozyr are scheduled.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in the sports world in us live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The coronavirus mainly spreads from person to person via sneezing and cough drops. The chance of becoming infected through surfaces such as door handles is small. This chance decreases if you wash your hands often.
- You can considerably reduce the chance of spreading by keeping at least 1.5 meters away from others.
- The corona measures have resulted in an infected person infecting less than one other person on average. Previously, this so-called reproduction number was between two and three.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Almost all deaths involve the elderly or other vulnerable persons, such as heart, lung or diabetes patients. If everyone complies with the measures, this reduces their risks.
- Read here what precautions you should take.
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