COVID-19 is threatening world sports again: Real Madrid, Premier League, Nadal and the NBA
A new COVID-19 wave has already disrupted the plans of many competitions worldwide, with the Winter Olympics, Australian Open and the Africa Cup of Nations being scheduled to kick off in the first two months of 2022.
It's still uncertain if the aforementioned tournaments will go ahead following the outbreak of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, while games are being postponed in the Premier League, plus players are going into self-isolation at Real Madrid and the NBA.
Nadal, NBA, Tottenham - Covid takes its toll on sport
Real Madrid and the Premier League
Both Real Madrid basketball and football teams saw squad and staff members test positive for COVID-19, with Marcelo, Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin and Rodrygo Goes missing out on Sunday's duel with Cadiz after contracting coronavirus.
Meanwhile, there was an outbreak at LaLiga Smartbank side Lugo, and Valencia coach Jose Bordalas also returned positive test results.
The competition that has been affected the most by the new wave is the Premier League, where up to 10 games were suspended due to numerous cases at various teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Clubs contemplated cancelling one of the festive matchdays, but they finally decided against doing so despite complaints by several coaches such as Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel.
The NBA is on the ropes
Controversy was sparked before the NBA tip-off when Kyrie Irving was banned from the Brooklyn Nets training sessions for refusing to get vaccinated.
Irving was allowed to return to action, but he subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 along with teammates Kevin Durant and James Harden.
The NBA reported that 97 percent of players are vaccinated, but various players have entered COVID-19 protocols, with teams being forced to carry out signings as a break seems impossible to take place.
Testing for vaccinated NFL players ends
More than 95 percent of the NFL players have been vaccinated, with the league announcing a targeted vaccination plan and scraping weekly COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic vaccinated players.
"Our experience with the Omicron variant is fully consistent with this expectation - while more players and staff are testing positive, roughly two-thirds of those individuals are asymptomatic, most of the remaining individuals have only mild symptoms, and the virus appears to clear positive individuals more rapidly than was true with the Delta and other variants," read the NFL's statement.
"In many respects, Omicron appears to be a very different illness from the one we first confronted in the spring of 2020."
Nadal tests positive
While tennis stars such as Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem refused to reveal their vaccination status in the past, players are required to be fully vaccinated to participate in the upcoming Australian Open.
Djokovic will take part in the tournament, but Pierre Hugues-Herbert was dropped due to the vaccination rules.
Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to action at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and he is doubtful for the Australian Open.
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