What should the German national handball team do now? Do you want to finish this European Championship as best you can, or just pack your bags and go home?
In any case, regular game operations are hardly to be thought of since five more corona cases were announced in the German team on Monday evening. A total of seven players from the tournament squad, which originally consisted of 19 professionals, are now infected – for the group final of the preliminary round on Tuesday evening (6 p.m., ZDF) against Poland, national coach Alfred Gislason has just eleven healthy players available. Although five players were hastily nominated, they are only allowed to play if they present a negative PCR test in good time.
The Germans are not alone in this situation. Croatians, Poles, Danes all have positive cases to complain about. Those affected must be in quarantine and can be tested after five days at the earliest. And the tournament is only in its first week: According to everything that is known about the infection routes, especially the new virus variant, the numbers are likely to explode soon.
The EHF expressly refrains from a tournament bubble at this European Championship
The Handball EM as Corona EM – unfortunately it was to be expected that the event would develop in this way. The European Handball Federation (EHF) has expressly waived a tournament bubble like the one created at the World Cup in Egypt a year ago – and relies on a two-day PCR test rhythm for all players. The Germans still felt they were on the safe side; in Slovakia, the smaller of the two host countries, where at least an attempt was made to demonstrate responsible corona management. The halls in Bratislava and Kosice are occupied at a maximum of 25 percent, vaccinated or recovered fans who wear FFP2 masks are allowed in. By all accounts, the controls are tight. There is also an FFP2 obligation at the places in the hall, not everyone adheres to it, but most do.
Next door, in Hungary, all the rules seem to have been suspended. The fans are close together. They cheer, sing, jump; Only a minority wears a mask in many pictures. The halls may be fully occupied, as Viktor Orbán’s government decreed three months before the parliamentary elections: 20,000 spectators in Budapest, 8,100 in Szeged, 6,500 in Debrecen.
On Saturday, Montenegrin Marko Lasica provided a disturbing image in Debrecen when, after the heated game against North Macedonia, he stalked towards opposing fans, stopped just before the cordon and spat straight into the crowd. Disgusting gesture aside, droplets and aerosols flew about. The EHF only sanctioned Lasica with a fine.
Did anyone really believe that this could go well for an entire tournament? In any case, the German team had imposed a meticulous hygiene protocol on itself – and was still caught. It could happen as handball official Bob Hanning said: This time, whoever has the fewest corona cases will be European champions. As of now, the German team has really bad cards.