October 25, 2020 – The coronavirus permeated throughout the Croatian First League and disrupted the HNL schedule. This weekend, only two of the five games of the 9th round are being played, though the HNS commissioner claims that everything is under control.
“Obviously, we live in such a time that it had to happen,” said Josip Brezni, adding: “So far, there is no reason to panic.”
Gol.hr reports that five matches were postponed in the first two months of the new season because of COVID-19, and three more due to the European obligations of individual clubs.
“Thus, after the 9th round, only Varazdin and Sibenik will have the maximum number of games played. Dinamo, Slaven Belupo, Gorica and Istra will have one game behind, Osijek and Hajduk are two matches behind, and Rijeka and Lokomotiva are three,” he said.
As the Europa League continues in autumn, Rijeka could see even more delays.
“Even before the start of the Championship, we knew that if any of our clubs qualified for the group stage of Europe and postponed any match, as Rijeka postponed two due to the UEFA competition and now one due to the coronavirus, they could only make up games in the spring,” says Brezni.
The regularity of the championship is not in question, for now.
“If we are possibly held back from the Headquarters or anything, and the situation worsens, resulting in further interruptions, of course, we will then adjust and possibly think about some next steps,” Brezni points out.
Therefore, the HNL is deciding on possibly shortening the championship; however, the deadline for such a decision is strict.
“The last option for possibly changing the way this year’s championship is played would be to play two more rounds in the spring part of the Championship.”
Even if the situation worsens, Brezni does not see a realistic option for the HNL to be played in the same city, without spectators, and for the teams to be in a “bubble” modeled on the NBA or the Champions League final.
On Saturday, the Istrian headquarters received a recommendation to postpone all inter-county competitions, which would mean that Istra 1961 cannot play its HNL matches.
The HNL commissioner commented:
“I personally think that there is really no reason for professional clubs to be restricted from playing matches. Eventually, it is realistic to think that the stadiums will be closed again and that we will play without spectators for most of the championship,” he concluded.
The worst situation is in Gorica, which has 13 infected players, followed by Osijek with seven coronavirus-positive players. Some postponed matches will start to be played next week.
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