FC Zurich to field youth team after squad coronavirus outbreak
FC Zurich have announced they will field a team of youth players in order to complete their upcoming Swiss Super League fixture against Basel.
Over the weekend, defender Mirlind Kryeziu tested positive for coronavirus, with other members of the senior squad then testing positive after showing symptoms, leading to the match against Sion to be postponed as well as the entire squad being quarantined until 17 July.
There were fears that the climax to the season in Switzerland would be thrown into turmoil with Zurich unable to play their remaining fixtures, but they have now announced that they will play their Under-21 squad against Basel this Tuesday so that further fixture scheduling issues can be avoided.
Club President Ancillo Canepa, who has also tested positive, said: “We are all in a very difficult situation. We are also particularly aggravated by the fact that some of the players in the first team are not resident in the canton of Zurich and are therefore subject to different health authorities.
"We weighed up all the pros and cons and came to the conclusion that we wanted to play the two matches against Basel and against Young Boys in the interests of Swiss football."
Zurich are currently sixth in the Super League table, but still retain hope of qualifying for the Europa League as they are just three points adrift of Servette in fourth.