15 test positive for COVID-19 in outbreak among Lyon Feminin squad

The coronavirus outbreak at Lyon Feminin has continued to spiral, with 15 positive tests now recorded among players and staff at the reigning European champions.

The number of cases at the club has climbed over a period of ten days since the first positive tests towards the end of last month. There were initially two cases within the first-team setup, but that climbed by four on three occasions to take the number to 14 prior to the latest announcement.

Lyon state that all 15 individuals that have tested positive for coronavirus have entered into isolation in accordance with protocols. The club also insists it will take the best possible measure and continue with daily testing to try to get the outbreak under control.

The return leg of the Champions League quarter-final against domestic rivals Paris Saint-Germain was originally due to be played on 1 April but has been postponed until 18 April instead.

The COVID-19 outbreak within the club and the risks of potential spreading was the reason that forward Nikita Parris was omitted from the England squad for this month’s internationals against France and Canada. Catarina Macario was named in the USWNT squad but has since pulled out.

Kadeisha Buchanan and Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir are not in the current Canada and Iceland squads respectively, but Dzenifer Marozsan was called up Germany at the end of March and France coach Corinne Diacre still opted to name Eugenie Le Sommer, Amandine Henry and Sakina Karchaoui in her squad, despite the protestation of Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas.

However, Wendie Renard, Amel Majri and Delphine Cascarino were left out by France.

Aulas accused Diacre and the French Football Federation of being ‘not very careful’ and tweeted that still calling up Lyon players for international duty in the circumstances is ‘not reasonable’.

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