Jamaica will launch a complaint to FIFA over Costa Rica ‘fielding two Covid-positive players against them in a key World Cup qualifier, despite being told to isolate them’… as the visitors claim their stars had the virus weeks earlier
- Jamaica chief claims three players from Costa Rica’s squad tested positive
- The medical chairman added two of them faced the Reggae Boyz on Wednesday
- General secretary Dalton Wint said the JFF will lodge a complaint to FIFA
- Former Arsenal star Joel Campbell scored the only goal in Costa Rica’s win
Jamaica are set to lodge a complaint with FIFA after claims they played against two coronavirus-positive Costa Rica players in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier.
Jamaica Football Federation medical chief Dr Guyan Arscott told The Jamaica Gleaner six people from Costa Rica’s travelling party – including two players who faced the Reggae Boyz – tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Jamaica on Tuesday.
Now JFF general secretary Dalton Wint has confirmed the body is aware of the issue and will consequently make a formal complaint to FIFA on the matter.
Jamaica are set to lodge a complaint with FIFA after claims they played against two coronavirus-positive Costa Rica players in their World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday
Jamaica’s medical chief claimed three unnamed Costa Rica players tested positive on Tuesday
‘I don’t know what we can appeal, but I am sure I will be sending something to FIFA to enquire as to why this happened because this is an absolute breach of the rules,’ Wint said.
A Costa Rica statement however said: ‘The Jamaican Federation stated in the weeks prior to the match that, due to restrictions by local authorities, the entire delegation had to take a PCR test upon arrival in Jamaica.
‘These tests were carried out on Tuesday night and the results were available on Wednesday afternoon. In these tests, one player and three administrative staff of the delegation were positive as new cases, in addition to two players recently recovered from COVID-19.
‘The new positives were immediately isolated and, as indicated by the protocol, these results were communicated to the FIFA delegation and the local authorities.
He also claimed the same unidentified players tested positive for the virus a few weeks ago
‘At the same time, all the documentation was presented proving that the other two players who tested positive were recovered cases with fewer than 25 days of having had a positive result for COVID-19.
‘Therefore, based on existing regulations and based on the documentation presented by the Costa Rican Football Federation, both FIFA and CONCACAF authorised the participation of said players.
‘Once the first half of the match against the Jamaicans had passed, the officials of the Medical Commission of the Jamaican Football Federation stated that their recommendation was that the players not participate.
‘This position did not come from any health authority in the country or from a soccer authority.’
Arscott meanwhile said: ‘I can confirm that there were six Costa Ricans that tested [positive for Covid-19]. Three were non-players and three were players.
‘One player was isolated because his test was deemed to be relatively new. We recommended that those two players should be isolated or should not be allowed to play.
‘We had some discussions with the members of the Ministry of Health and we wondered if they had some new infections, having tested negative before they left Costa Rica.
‘Be that as it may, with the positive test, we felt we were duty bound to recommend that they not play,’ Arscott said.
He also claimed the same players had tested positive for the virus a few weeks ago, but had been cleared after completing a period of self-isolation and also producing negative Covid tests.
‘They had tested positive a fortnight or so before. We were told that they did their quarantine and isolation and tested negative before leaving Costa Rica. But on arrival in Jamaica they tested positive at our official lab,’ Arscott added.
Jamaica, however, will not be participants at this winter’s Qatar World Cup after a third consecutive defeat, this time to Costa Rica.
Former Arsenal winger Joel Campbell scored the only goal of the game, which was played behind closed doors inside the National Stadium in Kingston.
The result keeps Costa Rica in the hunt for a place at the winter showpiece as they moved up to 16 points while Jamaica have been eliminated with just seven from 11 games.
Three direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot are available for CONCACAF teams in the final round of qualifying, with Canada, the United States and Mexico currently in the top three.
Panama sit one point above Costa Rica in the inter-confederation play-off slot with three games remaining.
Ex-Arsenal man Joel Campbell scored the only goal of the game in Costa Rica’s win in Kingston
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