UEFA said Monday the Champions League quarter-final between Atletico Madrid and Leipzig is “planned to be played as scheduled” on Thursday despite two positive tests for coronavirus at the Spanish club.
Atletico on Sunday
reported two individuals at the club had tested positive for coronavirus, just
days before they face German club Leipzig in Lisbon, where all eight
quarter-finalists will gather.
The club did not
say whether the positive tests concerned players, coaching staff or officials.
Atletico said a
fresh round of tests was being carried out on the squad and backroom staff on
Monday.
A UEFA spokesman
said: “The match is planned to be played as scheduled. We have no further comments
to make.”
Atletico said in a
statement on Sunday that the two individuals who tested positive “are
self-isolating in their respective homes”.
In an unprecedented
move during a season that was halted for three months by the coronavirus
pandemic, UEFA decided that the Champions League will be completed in a ‘final
eight’ tournament in Lisbon.
Under the UEFA
protocol for European competitions, a team must have 13 healthy players,
including a goalkeeper, for a match to go ahead.
Failing that, UEFA
can give the go-ahead for the match to be re-scheduled.
The quarter-finals
start on Wednesday when Italian side Atalanta take on Paris Saint-Germain. The
final is scheduled to take place on August 23.