Madrid, June 5 (IANS). The Democratic Republic of the Congo criticized the Spanish authorities’ decision to cancel the friendly match. The pre-World Cup friendly match against Chile, scheduled for June 9, was canceled due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the African country.
The match was scheduled to be played in La Linea de la Concepcion in southern Spain, but on Tuesday the city’s mayor, Juan Franco, announced that the match would not take place due to public health concerns.
“I have signed an order to ban the match between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chile on June 9,” Franco said.
He said that the report from the head of La Linea’s local health service had clearly advised that the match should not be hosted due to the potential health risks.
The DR Congo team has been training inside a safe health facility in Belgium in preparation for their World Cup campaign. According to reports, none of the 26 players play in Congo and neither have they reached the Belgium training camp directly from there. However, some members of the support staff and possibly some fans may have come from there.
Speaking at a virtual press conference organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), DR Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya lamented the situation, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We are facing a serious problem with the Spanish authorities. They have decided that our national team’s second scheduled match cannot be played because of Ebola,” he said.
“I believe that none of our players play in Kinshasa or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have all been in Belgium for about three weeks and are preparing for the World Cup. Such a decision could be considered discriminatory,” Muyaya said.
According to the World Health Organization, Ebola is a serious and often fatal disease. This virus can spread from wild animals (such as fruit-eating bats, porcupines and other primates) to humans. It then spreads through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
–IANS
AY/ABM