At least 13 professional soccer players are among Portugal’s first cases of the troubling new Omicron variant after just one of them traveled to South Africa, according to health officials.
The COVID-19 infections of players and staff at Belenenses SAD emerged after the Lisbon side was unable to field a full team of 11 players for Saturday’s game against local rivals Benfica.
The game went on anyway — but had to be scrapped within minutes of the second half when Belenenses were left with just six players, barely half the usual 11.
Preliminary tests taken after the match “strongly suggest that all 13 cases associated to Belenenses players are linked to the Omicron variant of concern,” Portugal’s national health institute said in a statement.
The infections came after defender Cafu Phete recently returned from South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first identified, the team and officials said.
The other players had not traveled there, indicating that this may be one of the very first cases of local transmission of the variant outside the countries where it was initially detected.
Belenenses SAD were unable to field a team of 11 due to COVID-19 cases. PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty ImagesA Belenenses spokesman said Phete was among 44 players and staff now self-isolating at home.
“Two or three players and two or three staff have symptoms, but nothing too serious, the rest are asymptomatic,” he said, noting that nearly all the players had been vaccinated.
Portuguese league officials met on Sunday to discuss the farcical game between Belenenses and Benfica, Agence France-Presse said.
According to the team’s spokesperson, 44 players and staff are self-isolating at home. Valter Gouveia/SPP/Sipa USAThe clubs’ presidents said at a press conference that they had no choice but to play the match because they would otherwise be punished for an “unjustified absence.”
However, referee Manuel Mota canceled the game three minutes in when Belenenses was reduced to six players — and was already down 7-0.
Potentially more contagious than prior variants, Omicron has been found in countries across the world, including Canada, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy and the Netherlands.
While no cases have been officially detected in the US, it is likely already here, admitted Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has come under fire for his delayed travel ban as other nations immediately stopped flights from South Africa.
With Post wires
