24hoursworld

Handball: Corona rules of the World Cup: DHB sees no need for action

Handball: Corona rules of the World Cup: DHB sees no need for action

A year after the Corona chaos at the European Championship, Germany’s handball players hope for a normal tournament at the World Cup. They do not agree with the criticism of some players on the specifications.

Despite the sharp criticism from some players of the Corona rules at the upcoming World Cup, the German Handball Association sees no need for action.

“The regulations are as they are. We will stick to them,” said DHB CEO Mark Schober in Hanover. The association therefore sees no reason for talks with the world association IHF and the organizers of the final round from January 11th to 29th in Poland and Sweden.

Iceland’s national goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson had sharply criticized the corona rules at the World Cup in an open letter published on Twitter. “The players are aware that they can end their quarantine themselves at any time and refuse to be tested,” wrote the 37-year-old.

The human rights of the players are curtailed by the guidelines. “If the IHF wanted to implement these measures to protect the players, they achieved exactly the opposite. And I think I speak for everyone. The corona trauma of the last tournaments is still very present among the players and affects the athletes, who are as healthy as a horse, more than Corona,” scolded the former Bundesliga professional from SC Magdeburg and Bergisches HC.

National coach Alfred Gislason did not want to go into the statements of his compatriot. In general, he has the impression that we are on the way to normality. “Of course I hope that we don’t have any positive cases and that we experience a tournament that is all about handball,” said Gislason.

At the World Cup, in addition to vaccinations, players must also show evidence of tests before the start of the tournament, before the main round and the quarter-finals. If the test is positive, a five-day quarantine is required. In the World Cup host countries Poland and Sweden, a quarantine obligation and other measures have been suspended for months.

Before Gustavsson, Sweden’s national goalkeeper Mikael Appelgren from the Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen had already criticized the corona rules. It’s a damn shame when you’re playing a home World Cup and can’t live like you normally do in Sweden, said Appelgren.

Source: Stern

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts