First modification: 18/05/2021 – 01:52Last modification: 18/05/2021 – 01:51
–
Buenos Aires (AFP)
River Plate added six cases of covid-19 to the 15 already infected before the Argentine Superclásico against Boca Juniors on Monday, and is in danger of not being able to complete the eleventh to face the Colombian Independiente Santa Fe on Wednesday for the Copa Libertadores.
The list of new infections includes Leonardo Ponzio, Gonzalo Montiel and Lucas Beltrán, who made up the team that faced Boca on Sunday for the Argentine League Cup, as well as Alex Vigo and the Colombian youth Flabián Londoño Bedoya, the club reported in a statement.
“Marcelo Pudelka (nutritionist) and Enrique Confalonieri (kinesiologist) also tested positive,” added the report posted on Twitter.
The archers Franco Armani, Enrique Bologna, Germán Lux and Franco Petroli, the defenders Robert Rojas and Paulo Díaz, the midfielders Nicolás De la Cruz, Agustín Palavecino, Bruno Zuculini, Benjamín Rollheiser, Santiago Simón, Tomás had already been discarded for being covid positive Castro Ponce, and the attackers Rafael Santos Borré, Matías Suárez and Federico Girotti.
Coach Marcelo Gallardo currently has only ten players available for the Libertadores game in Buenos Aires, but no goalkeeper among them.
The four goalkeepers who were listed in good faith are isolated for being positive and Conmebol would not allow adding more names to the 32 that River gave at the time.
The ‘millionaire’ club presented a request for special authorization to Conmebol to incorporate the youth Alan Leonardo Díaz, substitute goalkeeper of the reserve division (youth categories) and appears in the match against Boca.
48 hours after the meeting with Santa Fe, positive cases accumulate. In case of not presenting a minimum of 7 players, River could lose the game by “walk over”, with the result of 3-0 for the Colombians.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Conmebol had expanded the quota in good faith for each squad to 50 players, but Gallardo preferred to include only the 32 with whom he usually works.
Now River is forced to process an exception that will be evaluated by the entity that governs South American football.
© 2021 AFP
–
