ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Slovakia defender Denis Vavro and a member of the team’s coaching staff have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the European Championship match against Sweden, coach Stefan Tarkovic said Thursday.
They are the first positive tests for COVID-19 to have been announced since Euro 2020 started.
Tarkovic said Vavro has no symptoms and is isolating. He didn’t disclose the name of the coach.
Testing took place on Wednesday.
The game against Sweden is in St. Petersburg on Friday.
“We started to work with the Russian public health authorities,” Tarkovic said through a translator, “and started to apply the corresponding UEFA protocol. So we took all the steps to avoid the spread of the infection.”
UEFA protocol states that teams with fewer than 13 players could have their game “rescheduled within the next 48 hours of the date of the relevant match” and possibly at a different venue.
“Any additional player called up to meet the minimum of 13 players requires that an equivalent number of quarantined players are definitively withdrawn from the 26 players list,” the European soccer body said.
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