Football defender Slovan Bratislava Yuri Medvedev with his girlfriend Simona.
photo archive of Yuri Medvedev
Was the week stressful in the Faroe Islands?
Terrible, terrible. I would not wish anyone to experience such a thing. In fact, you have been trying for a year to play for the Champions League. When the match is finally coming, he won’t let you play. And on top of that, it keeps you at the hotel for a few days.
Couldn’t you go out?
Not even from the room! The whole three days. They brought us food in packages. They put them behind the door, knocked, and left. We were like in prison, we were actually abused. Due to protective measures, we had, of course, single beds. If only we had Czech or Slovak television … So we lay, jumped, sat, but only in the room. Real psycho.
Couldn’t you even walk down the hall?
They warned us that if they saw any of us at the reception, for example, we would have a big problem. The matter would be handled by the police.
A disaster for a Slovak master. Slovan lost the Champions League chance due to coronavirus
Did the problems start right after arrival?
Yes. They didn’t want to let us go to pre-match training, we couldn’t even see the lawn. They told us all that one of us had a coronavirus. At the same time, the player in question was long quarantined at home.
That was a clear, strong argument.
In the end, they allowed us to go to the locker room, we were locked in it for an hour before they allowed us to run to the playground. We were terribly disappointed with what was going on there. UEFA, I think, could have intervened better.
| WHAT HAPPENED |
| Last Wednesday, Slovan was to play a duel of the 1st preliminary round of the Champions League on the ground of Klaksvík. Two days before the kick-off, one player and official had positive coronavirus tests. The club traveled to the Faroe Islands without them for the match. The results of the remaining members of the expedition were negative, yet the match was postponed by the local authorities to Friday. Because of this, the Slovak champion called on seven players from Bratislava on Thursday, who were not in the original team, and added nine juniors. Prior to departure, all were negative, but a coronavirus was detected in one of the additional members on the spot. Based on this information, the match was canceled, and UEFA subsequently decided on the promotion of the home team. |
You lived in uncertainty for a week.
At first we didn’t know how long we would be closed. We were connected to a joint group on WhatsApp. The club tried to save the situation, sent a bécek for us. But even there, two cases were found. Until the last minute, we waited to see if we could play. The permit did not come, after a week we flew away by default.
Slovan is said to be preparing a protest.
In terms of sports, however, nothing will change, no one will give us back the opportunity to fight for the Champions League. Now we have to try for the European League. Unfortunately, we have to go out again, this time to Kuopio, Finland. Maybe it won’t be like a copier.
Slovan failed at CAS with a request to postpone Klaksvík’s match
Aren’t you afraid that the experience of the Faroe Islands will have a negative impact on the team?
We were without training for a long time, which is not ideal. Mentally, events certainly did not help us. But we are professionals, we have to deal with it and keep playing. From his position, Slovan has an unwritten obligation to win the Slovak league and the domestic cup. But we also want to go to Europe …
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