And here is the Covid again, interfering in sporting events, decimating teams and forcing matches to be cancelled.
This is what has just happened to the French volleyball team which was to face China this Wednesday in the Philippines as part of the League of Nations where it finished third last year.
The Blues learned a few hours before the meeting that they would not go to the court: China having withdrawn because of numerous cases of Covid in its ranks.
France therefore won the match 3-0 by forfeit.
“The men's VNL match between China and France on June 22 was canceled after China confirmed that it could not field a team for medical reasons, justified the organizer of the event.
The Chinese men's national team is unable to field six players for the match, which was scheduled to take place in the Philippines, due to medical circumstances related to Covid-19.
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and Volleyball World therefore confirmed the cancellation of the match with an automatic forfeit for China, giving France a 3-0 victory.
The FIVB and Volleyball World apologize to the athletes and fans for any inconvenience caused by this cancellation.
Like always,
the primary concern of the FIVB and Volleyball World is to protect the health and well-being of our athletes, officials and supporters.
»
#VNL2022
Discover the list of 14 in the Philippines 😉
🔵🏐🔴 The French men's team flew to Quezon City (Philippines) on Friday, where they will play the second of their three Volleyball Nations League chickens.
📰 Read the article 👉 https://t.co/Ha8I3c28yf pic.twitter.com/slbR38wmji
— FFvolley (@FFvolley) June 18, 2022
But if the French Olympic champions should be able to face the Netherlands without problem on Thursday, the meeting scheduled for Saturday against Japan could be compromised.
The Japanese have indeed returned from their trip to Brazil, also within the framework of the League of Nations, with a dozen positive cases of Covid in their ranks…