Dynamo Moscow reports coronavirus cases, game postponed

Dynamo were due to play third-place FC Krasnodar on Sunday but Krasnodar agreed to a postponement and the Russian Football Union set July 19 as the new date for the game.

Dynamo Moscow said Sunday that three of its players had tested positive for the coronavirus as its game on the Russian soccer league’s restart weekend was postponed. Dynamo said the team and staff were confined to its training base after the positive tests for forward Clinton N’Jie and midfielders Charles Kabore and Sebastian Szymanski. All other players tested negative in samples taken Saturday, the club added.

Dynamo Moscow fans hold up signs with Dynamo logo during a Russian Football Premier League match.(Getty Images)

Dynamo were due to play third-place FC Krasnodar on Sunday but Krasnodar agreed to a postponement. The Russian Football Union set July 19 as the new date for the game. It’s the second game to be disrupted by the coronavirus since the Russian league restarted Friday after a three-month pause.

On Friday, Sochi beat FC Rostov 10-1 after Rostov was forced to field youth players, some as young as 16. Rostov’s entire first team is in isolation because of a suspected virus outbreak in the squad and Sochi refused to postpone the game.

The different approaches of Sochi and Krasnodar to coronavirus cases in their opponents’ squads mean that the virus has already affected the battle for Russia’s three Champions League places. Krasnodar is third in the table and Rostov is fourth.

The title race is all but decided as Zenit St. Petersburg extended its lead Saturday with a 4-0 win over CSKA Moscow. Dynamo already reported coronavirus cases last month. The club said then that one player and one coach had been diagnosed with the virus, that two people had “borderline” results and two more people had antibodies indicating they previously had the virus.