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Football

Raja players quarantined in Morocco and unable to travel to Cairo

Moroccan authorities have stopped Raja's players and staff from travelling to Cairo where they are due to face Zamalek in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.

Soccer Football - Egyptian Premier League - Pyramids FC v Al Ahly - Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - October 11, 2020 General view of fans inside the stadium during the match REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
AMR ABDALLAH DALSHREUTERS

Raja's expedition was due to fly out to Cairo on Wednesday for their semi-final's return leg but the squad has been unable to travel after Covid-19 infections seriously affected the squad and the staff. Eight positive cases among players were recorded.

The Moroccan health ministry decided that the whole squad should undergo a 7-day quarantine in Morocco before travelling after 9 positive cases have been detected; 8 of them are players.

Moroccan media reports confirmed that Raja's administration has called off the tickets previously booked to Cairo following the health authorities' decision. The return leg of the semi-final clash in Cairo was scheduled for Saturday, with Zamalek having sealed a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Casablanca.

Reports suggest that CAF will approve postponing the game:

Meanwhile, some reports revealed that CAF will decide to approve Raja's previously-submitted request of delaying the face-off with Zamalek although all speculations were suggesting that Raja's request would be rejected based on CAF's response to similar cases when the requests of teams participating in the Confederation Cup of putting off their encounters due to the same reasons were rejected.

News has emerged lately that Zamalek's players have shown resentment about the potential delay of the game, while the club's president stated that he has no issue with the game being delayed out of support for the Moroccan side.