The Czech Republic will go ahead with next week's UEFA Nations League match against Scotland but will field a different team than the one that beat Slovakia on Friday due to COVID-19 concerns, a team spokesman said on Saturday.
Shortly after their 3-1 victory against Slovakia, the Czech FA said in a statement that Monday's game against Scotland would not take place due to the "current situation with COVID-19."
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Monday's Nations League match between the Czech Republic and Scotland will go ahead as planned after negotiations between the Czech FA and UEFA representatives.Czech team will consist from new players and staff members.
— Czech Football Team (@ceskarepre_eng) September 5, 2020
Slavia Prague's chairman said shortly before the game against Slovakia that he would ask to withdraw his club's players from the Czech squad after another member of the national team staff tested positive for the new coronavirus.
After discussions with UEFA, the Czech Republic have decided to put together a new team for Monday's match, which is set to played in the Czech city of Olomouc, team representatives said.
"The Czech FA is now in close communication with clubs and deciding who will play for the national team," FA spokesman Michal Jurman said on Twitter.
Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell said: “We were as surprised as UEFA to learn of the statement posted on the official FACR channels last night. Following extensive conversations late last night and this morning we have received categorical assurance that the match goes ahead."
NEWS | Statement on UEFA #NationsLeague fixture v Czech Republic.https://t.co/iZ06UU98o8
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 5, 2020
Scotland began their Nations League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Israel on Friday and will travel to Olomouc on Sunday.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
