Lorient's mascott waves a flag on empty tribunes during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Nimes Olympique, at the Moustoir stadium in Lorient, northwestern France on December 13, 2020.

Lorient's COVID-19 cluster forces cancellation of Ligue 1 game vs. Dijon

Agence France-Presse
5 years ago
DAMIEN MEYER / AFP / Getty

Paris, Jan 15, 2021 (AFP) - Relegation-threatened Lorient's home game against fellow Ligue 1 strugglers Dijon was cancelled on Friday after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Breton side.

The postponement of Sunday's game is the first in Ligue 1 since Marseille's meeting with Nice on Nov. 17 was called off.

"Following advice from the national COVID commission, it was decided to postpone the match due to the absence of more than 10 of 30 Lorient players after positive RT-PCR tests," the French Football Federation announced.

Under protocols agreed at the beginning of September, matches are postponed if a team does not have 20 players with negative tests available.

Lorient also confirmed that their training centre would close for a minimum of 10 days after positive tests from youth players and management.

There are fears that the virus may have spread after the Lorient youngsters played a recent friendly against Nantes.

Lorient sit 19th in Ligue 1, are winless in five matches and two points and one place behind Dijon.

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