LaLiga rule Granada must play Real Sociedad despite COVID-19 outbreak

LaLiga has ruled that Granada must play Real Sociedad on Sunday afternoon despite their playing squad being ravaged by COVID-19.

The Andalusians are travelling to the Basque Country with just seven first-team players and had asked LaLiga to postpone the game, only for their request to be rejected by the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation as reported by AS.

They were informed that they can only name players in their squad who tested negative for COVID-19 and didn’t travel to Cyprus for last Thursday’s Europa League clash with Omonia Nicosia. Coach Diego Martínez and striker Antonio Puertas are both self-isolating after showing symptoms of the virus.

Granada explained in a statement that “the team will travel to San Sebastian in the next few hours with only seven players in the squad who meet the requirements imposed by LaLiga, [with the squad] completed with players from the B team and the youth team who also meet these requirements.”

Real Sociedad also featured in the Europa League last Thursday, beating AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at Anoeta. Granada were triumphant also against Omonia Nicosia, winning 2-0 in Cyprus.

Both sides are flying high domestically – La Real are currently second, level on points with Atlético Madrid in first, while Granada are in fifth, three points behind.

Featured image courtesy of Información Andalucía.