KOCHI: In order to avoid their foreign players from getting locked out of their home countries and stranded in India, FC Goa requested their overseas players and staff to leave with immediate effect. The players left the country on Thursday one after the other. Goa went under lockdown from Thursday till next Monday amidst the rising number of covid cases in the state.
This meant that the team were without the services of head coach Juan Ferrando, captain Edu Bedia, striker Jorge Ortiz and defender Ivan Gonzalez, who are all from Spain, for their final Group E fixture against Al Wahda on Thursday. Their conditioning coach Javi Gonzalez, who is also from Spain, also left. Besides them, defender James Donachie, who hails from Australia, also departed.
This meant that the club competed their final group game against Al-Wahda with an all Indian contingent with assistant coach Clifford Miranda in charge. The AFC Champions League Group E matches have been underway in Goa since mid-April. “FC Goa would like to inform that the club’s foreign contingent including the head coach and foreign staff have been advised to travel back home immediately.
This comes as a pre-emptive measure in view of recent policies being taken by European and other countries in regards to travellers from India as the nation battles the second wave of Covid-19 which has engulfed the country,” a statement from the club read.
Meanwhile, Al Wahda are expected to fly out by a chartered flight while Persepolis and Al-Rayyan will also leave the country by Friday morning. The Group E matches of the Champions League drew to a close on Thursday with FC Goa failing to qualify from the group stage. While the game against Al-Wahda was an inconsequential tie, fielding an all Indian team was an unusual situation brought about by the prevailing conditions.
Full story: newindianexpress.com