The handball revolt against the anti-covid protocol: "I don’t get it, the coronavirus is no longer dangerous"

World Cup gamers and coaches cry out towards a protocol that may isolate them for a number of video games and that forestalls them from approaching the followers

Remili, through the France-Poland this Wednesday.Piotr HawalejPA

Within the NBA, a league that solely checks gamers with signs, a declared anti-vaccination, Kyrie Irving, shines nearly each evening and can most likely begin the following All-Star. Within the final World Cup, France performed the ultimate with two starters, Adrien Rabiot Y Dayot Upamecano, who had simply suffered a sort of SARS and brought about a type of outbreak within the focus. Within the final Tour of Spain, Juan Ayuso he examined constructive and never solely continued within the race, however ended up on the ultimate podium in Madrid as third total. Sport has overcome covid. All sport? No, a self-discipline, handball, nonetheless lives in 2020, with its protocols, its guidelines and its restrictions. His gamers are beginning to get fed up.

This Wednesday the handball World Cup started with a France-Poland match and you could possibly nonetheless see masks within the corridors of the pavilion, meters of distance between gamers and followers and a normal environment of uncertainty. why?

Due to the trauma skilled a 12 months in the past. The Worldwide Federation has made a protocol primarily based on previous conditions, in sanitary circumstances totally different from these of now. The gamers are a bit stressed, with good motive. You can provide a constructive outcome even if you’re asymptomatic and that circumstances the World Cup for you, says Juan José Muoz Benito, the physician from Spain, who makes his debut this Thursday towards Montenegro (8:30 p.m., Teledeporte) in full. Luckily. As a result of simply 72 hours earlier than the premiere, your entire group needed to move the related checks and this time there have been no positives. Different groups, akin to Denmark, did lose references, such because the central Mads Mensah Larsen. However the reminiscence of the final European is just too alive in handball.

Then nearly 120 positives have been registered amongst all of the groups, a full-fledged macro outbreak, and there was not a sport with out scares: the nationwide group, for instance, ran out of Joan Caellas and Ian Tarrafeta within the second part and with out Ferran Sol Y sergey hernndez within the semifinals. Presumably due to that, on this World Cup there will probably be controls once more earlier than the second part and, above all, simply earlier than the quarterfinals: a decisive second, the stress will return. If then the 2 traces seem within the take a look at of Alex Dujshebaevchief of Spain, or Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, their goalkeeper, to present two worrying examples, they should isolate themselves for 5 days and will be unable to play a minimum of till the ultimate. A inflexible rule, however not essentially the most controversial.

“We wish to wash whiter than white”

The World Cup is held between Poland and Sweden, two international locations with a sure handball custom, and a few restrictions, such because the one that forestalls gamers from approaching followers to take pictures or signal autographs, have been lifted. In these international locations, in reality, a type of marketing campaign has been began for the IHF to chill out its anti-covid protocol within the coming days.

I do not perceive why they order that. In Sweden the coronavirus has ended and is not thought-about harmful since April. It is a pity that we will not reside the World Cup as we reside right here now, Sweden’s assistant coach mentioned this week, michael apelgren, who isn’t alone in any respect. A colleague like guillaume gille, the France coach, once more the principle favorite, additionally raised her voice to complain in regards to the limits imposed: We wish to wash a bit of extra white than white and I do not see the explanation. Our neighbor, soccer, essentially the most common sport, has simply performed a World Cup in Qatar and I feel that on this month and a half I’ve not as soon as heard the phrases covid take a look at or PCR checks.

In the meanwhile, the Worldwide Federation has not responded to those claims, though it could have to take action if a participant decides to interrupt the protocol, as has already been threatened. A couple of days in the past, Iceland’s goalkeeper, Bjorgvin Gustavssonidentified that the anti-covid rules of the World Cup in Poland and Sweden are unlawful and that we’ll see what he does if by probability he checks constructive and isolates him.

The match guidelines are stricter than the legal guidelines in pressure within the two organizing international locations, so the gamers are conscious that we will go away isolation at any time or refuse to take the checks, he mentioned in a letter launched by way of his social networks. during which he additionally identified that isolation would go towards the safety of privateness and freedom of labor and that his colleagues nonetheless deeply really feel the trauma skilled with the covid within the final European. The game has overcome the pandemic, however handball continues to be at it.