La Liga may quarantine any club whose players break the safety protocol set up to guide players, coaches and staff during the disrupted 2019-2020 season which restarted on Thursday. The Spanish league could take such a stand in reaction to a Barcelona player Nelson Semedo who broke the protocol by being in a gathering of more than 20 people.
Earlier in the week, Nelson Semedo was captured on camera partying at the Casanova Beach Club in Castelldefels with over 20 people amid the coronavirus pandemic. He was then forced to stay away from the rest of the Barcelona team and had to be tested for coronavirus. If the test returns negative, he will be allowed to rejoin the team which is playing its first match on Sunday.
Just like in the case of Semedo, in May, three Seville players were caught on camera having a barbecue get-together with more than 10 people in attendance, a breach of La Liga protocol.
However, in the case of Semedo, he didn’t just break the safety protocol put together by La Liga, he also broke that which is being observed across Spain that no gathering of more than 15 people is permitted.
Though Barcelona football club said they became aware of Semedo’s crime on Wednesday, they didn’t make public the punishment they will slam on the Portuguese left-back.
In the other hand, La Liga president Javier Tebas said via a video conference call on Thursday that such occurrences could force the league body to enforce a stringent rule which could see clubs self-quarantine while the league is ongoing.
Tebas said: “If this continues, we could be obliged to look at something we weren’t going to do, which is quarantining. We had planned for an obligatory quarantine the week before the season began. But if this is going to become more normal — three players from one club, one from another — then we will be left with no choice.
“If they aren’t complying with the rules with the due diligence of a footballer, then we would have to take a step back and demand they quarantine. If so many parties and so many barbecues continue…
“It would be a shame because many are complying, so I make a call to all those that are to ensure everyone at their club is following the rules. La Liga showed a lot of confidence by not enforcing quarantine and that confidence is diluting as the rules in place are being broken.”
La Liga resumed on Thursday, June 11, after three months of no football due to the dreaded coronavirus pandemic. The first and only match for the night was the Seville derby which saw Sevilla beat Real Betis 2-0 to strengthen their place in the top four on the league table.
