Wolves have voiced their disappointment after the club’s appeal to postpone their Europa League tie against Olympiacos was rejected, despite the Greek side’s owner having coronavirus.
Despite increasing worries around the virus, the game is still going ahead and is set to be played behind closed doors. This has been the case for various football fixtures around Europe, with only Italy officially suspending games so far.
MORE: Olympiacos players all test negative for coronavirus ahead of Europa League clash with Wolves
The Wanderers submitted an official request to Uefa to postpone their game, after Olympiacos owner, Evangelos Marinakis, announced that he had contracted the virus on Tuesday.
As quoted by The Independent though, their proposal was denied, with the club releasing the following statement: “Wolves can confirm that a formal request submitted to Uefa proposing the postponement of Thursday’s Europa League tie at Olympiacos has been rejected by the governing body. The match will take place, behind closed doors, in line with the Greek government’s enforced temporary suspension of spectators attending sporting events.”
On the back of their failed postponement, the club have voiced their disappointment. As per the same source, Wolves also stated: “Our position is that the trip poses unnecessary risks to our players, staff, supporters and the families of all who travel, at such critical and uncertain times.”
Fears surrounding the virus have showed no signs of slowing down, with the club clearly wanting to prioritise their player’s health over anything else. Some fans and pundits believe football should be momentarily put on pause, as opposed to playing games behind closed doors, but European competitions continue to go ahead nonetheless.
This is the first time that Wolves will feature in a major knock-out stage of a European tournament since 1972, but none of their fans will be able to experience the special occasion. Instead, coronavirus continues to maintain a strong hold over the game.