DR Congo condemns Spain's cancellation of Chile friendly over Ebola

The Democratic Republic of Congo has condemned a decision by Spanish authorities to cancel its pre-World Cup friendly match against Chile scheduled for June 9, citing the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the African nation, News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.

The match was originally planned to take place in La Línea de la Concepción in southern Spain. However, on Tuesday, the town’s mayor, Juan Franco, announced that the game would not go ahead on public health grounds.

“I have signed the decree banning the holding of the 9 June match between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” Franco stated, adding that “a report by the head of the local health service of La Línea advised categorically against hosting the match given the health risks which might arise.”

The DR Congo national team has been training in a controlled health bubble in Belgium ahead of its World Cup campaign. It is reported that none of the 26 players is based in the country or travelled directly from there to the training camp, although some members of the support staff and potentially some fans may have done so.

Speaking at a virtual press conference organised by the World Health Organization, DR Congo’s Minister of Communication Patrick Muyaya expressed frustration over the situation.

“We are having serious problems with the Spanish authorities because they have decided that the second match our national team is scheduled to play cannot be played due to Ebola,” he said.

“I believe that none of our players play in Kinshasa or in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have all been in Belgium for about three weeks now, training for the World Cup, so this type of decision could be considered discrimination,” Muyaya added.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev