Madrid, March 14 (IANS) FC Barcelona has decided that it will no longer hold training sessions for its first team squad due to fears of the spread of the coronavirus.
The club, on Friday, explained in a communique that “given the current situation and following the recommendations of the medical staff at the club, the first team has suspended all activity until further notice,” reports Xinhua news agency.
The decision was taken after “a meeting between the football first team, President Josep Maria Bartomeu, Dr. Jaume Padros, president of the Barcelona Medical College and head of workers’ health at FC Barcelona and Dr. Antoni Trilla, head of Preventative Medicine and Epidemiology at Hospital Clinic in Barcelona,” read the communique, which adds that the players “will follow a personalized training plan at home, under the supervision of the fitness coaches over the coming days.”
The Barcelona women’s team as well as the B-team and the under-19 team have also suspended their activity.
The news came a day after the Spanish Football League (LaLiga) decided to suspend the Liga Santander and the Liga Smart Bank for at least two weeks, while the Spanish Football Federation has also suspended all over levels of football in Spain.
It was also reported on Thursday that the Real Madrid first team football and basketball teams have gone into quarantine after basketball player Trey Thompkins tested positive for Covid-19.
Over 4,300 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Spain, with other 120 losing their lives to the disease.
–IANS
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