Olympiacos upset after players contract virus on international duty

Piraeus, Greece, Nov 19, 2020 (AFP) - Greek club Olympiacos on Thursday criticised FIFA's decision to allow national teams to play during the pandemic after two of their players contracted Covid-19 on international duty.

The Piraeus club will be missing coronavirus positive Moroccan Youssef El-Arabi and Egyptian Ahmed Hassan for two weeks as they self-isolate.

"All the clubs in Europe are investing huge sums to keep their players safe, but unfortunately they continue to suffer losses due to the unreasonable decision to hold national team matches at the height of the pandemic," said Olympiacos general manager Lina Souloukou on twitter.

Coach Pedro Martins is also facing the absence of French midfielder Mathieu Valbuena, who suffered a fracture during practice.

"Unfortunately, I got injured in practice and I will miss the next few weeks," said Valbuena.

The three players will most likely miss the next four games, the Super League derby with Panathinaikos on Saturday, next week's Champions League date with Manchester City, followed by Aris Thessaloniki and then Marseille on December 1.