After five months of judgment, the soccer resumes in China [PHOTOS]

Head to the floor, the players have respected one minute symbolic remembrance of the victims of the coronavirus.

July 25, 2020 20h37

After five months of judgment, the soccer resumes in China [PHOTOS]

AFP

Agence France-Presse

SUZHOU — The football championship of china has resumed Saturday with the win of Guangzhou Evergrande in the face Shanghai Shenhua (2-0), after a lapse of five months due to the pandemic of COVID-19, paying tribute to the victims during a minute of silence.

Head to the floor, the players have adhered to this minute symbolic remembrance of the victims of the coronavirus, which appeared in Wuhan in China at the turn of the year, and the medical staff, during the match replay between reigning champion Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by the Italian Fabio Cannavaro, and the winner of the national Cup, Shanghai Shenhua.

A few moments before the kick-off, the captain of Evergrande, Paulinho, the midfielder, international brazilian, and his teammates have deployed a banner that read, “Tribute to the medical staff”, while the players of Shenhua wore jerseys in honor of the “heroes” of the coronavirus.

The opening match was held behind closed doors in Dalian (north-east), one of the two cities with Suzhou (east), which host the matches of the Super League chinese (CSL) for the next two months, without a public program.

Equipped with masks, some members of the security staff and physicians, however, have been allowed to attend the match in the stands, in recognition of their efforts to combat the virus.

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Another symbol: this is the Wuhan Zall club in the city where appeared the new coronavirus, which has played and won 2-0 the second game on Saturday against the promoted Qingdao Huanghai.

The CSL, which should begin on 22 February, was one of the first sports competitions in the world to review its calendar when the epidemic struck the country in late 2019, before spreading around the world.

The league organising body of the competition, however, remains on edge after the appearance of several new cases of contamination in the port city of Dalian.

The players of the 16 teams divided into two groups, have joined in the beginning of the week to their respective hotels for a closed session of 70 days. They only come out to go train or compete for two meetings per week during this first phase that runs until the end of September.

Professional sport is gradually picking up in China, with the championship of basketball (CBA), which will host from Sunday to fans in the halls for the first time since the resumption of the competition on 20 June.

However, the chinese government has excluded the organization from most international competitions this year, all tennis tournaments including the final of the WTA tour and the Shanghai Masters.

The holding of the Grand Prix of China Formula 1 is also outstanding.

Le Soleil