MADRID, May 11: The Spanish league is not changing its plan to resume competing after five players from clubs in the first and second divisions tested positive for COVID-19, with president Javier Tebas saying he hopes it can restart on June 12.
Tebas said if everything continues to go according to plan in Spain, he expects the league to resume a month from now � depending on decisions by local authorities regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
We would like to start on June 12, but it will depend on a lot of things, Tebas said in an interview late on Sunday with league broadcaster Movistar.
�If we all continue to comply with the health safety measures, I don�t think we will have any problems.�
The league confirmed the positive tests on Sunday but said it was not going to alter the practice protocol that got underway last week. Players from most clubs began individual training sessions on Friday after nearly two months of confinement because of the pandemic.
The league said it will continue to apply the back-to-training protocol that was approved by government authorities to guarantee the maximum safety of all players, coaches and club employees.
Tebas noted the very low number of positive cases and said it will be virtually impossible for contagion to happen during games because everyone involved would have been tested ahead of time.
�The matches are where there will be less risk,� Tebas said.
The five players who tested positive will remain sidelined until they fully recover. They are all without symptoms and recovering from the disease, according to the league. They will be allowed to resume practising after testing negative in two consecutive tests.
All other players tested negative, and the league said only three staff members of clubs tested positive after nearly 2,500 total tests were conducted.
�This is good news for the football industry and for Spanish society as well,� Tebas said, adding the league had expected about 30 positive tests. � AP
