Spain national football team captain for Euro 2020, Sergio Busquets, has tested positive for COVID-19, which has been a wake-up call for UEFA to address the COVID-19 situation in a more detailed and organized way.
If a team player tests COVID-19 positive, it puts all of his teammates at risk even if they don’t return positive in the tests.
So, UEFA has established exceptional measures in the case of a team suffering from an outbreak during the competition:
- In the event that a group of players from a team is placed in mandatory quarantine or self-isolation following a decision by a competent national/local authority, the match will start as scheduled provided the team in question has at least 13 players available.
- If a national association is unable to field a line-up of the minimum number of players then the match, if possible, will be rescheduled within 48 hours of the original date. UEFA will also have the power to assign the rescheduled fixture to an alternate venue.
- If the match can’t be rescheduled, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will make a decision on the matter. UEFA will declare that a match that isn’t played will be considered as a 3-0 defeat for the team impacted by the virus.
- If any member of the refereeing team designated for a match tests positive for COVID-19, UEFA may appoint replacement match officials who may be of the same nationality as one of the teams involved in the match. This will come down to the availability of negatively-tested officials and nothing more.
