BARCELONA: Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele, defender Samuel Umtiti and midfielder Gavi have tested positive for Covid-19, the Spanish club said Wednesday, bringing to six the number of infected first team players.
“The players are in good health and self-isolating at home. The Club has reported the cases to the relevant authorities,” Barcelona said in a statement.
The three players join left-back Jordi Alba, center-back Clement Lenglent and defender Dani Alves, who also tested positive this week.
Barcelona, currently seventh in La Liga, travel to Real Mallorca (15th) on Sunday.
Several Spanish clubs have reported Covid cases, such as Real Sociedad on Monday or Real Madrid in mid-December, but no match has yet been postponed.
According to La Liga and Spanish Football Federation rules, a match is suspended when a team does not have at least 13 players, of which five must be from the first team.
This puts Sunday’s match between Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano at risk because the latter team has up to 17 infected players, according to press reports, making it the hardest-hit squad in the first division.
Real Sociedad has reported 10 infected players, Cadiz has five and RCD Mallorca four.
Three more Barca players test positive for Covid-19
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Three more Barca players test positive for Covid-19
- "The players are in good health and self-isolating at home", Barcelona said in a statement
- Several Spanish clubs have reported Covid cases, such as Real Sociedad on Monday or Real Madrid in mid-December
US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues
The US will invest $115 million in counter-drone measures to bolster security around the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, the latest sign of governments stepping up drone defenses.
The FIFA World Cup will be a major test of President Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the US secure, with over a million travelers expected to visit for the tournament and billions more watching matches from overseas.
The threat of drone attacks has become a growing concern since the war in Ukraine has demonstrated their lethal capabilities. And recent drone incidents have worried both European and US airports.
“We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Defense companies are developing a range of technologies aimed at countering drones, including tracking software, lasers, microwaves and autonomous machine guns.
The DHS did not specify which technologies it would deploy to World Cup venues. The announcement comes weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sits under DHS, said it granted $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to buy counter-drone technologies.
Last summer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called on Trump, a Republican, to bolster federal support for defending against drone attacks.
