Australia national team coach fined for not respecting anti-covid rules

Australia’s national team coach Graham Arnold has been fined 25,000 Australian dollars (R$ 91,000) for not respecting the isolation rules after testing positive for covid-19, the country’s Football Federation announced on Monday. FFA) in a statement.

The FFA said the fine will not prevent Arnold from leading the national team against Japan next Thursday. Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cupif you have a negative PCR test before departure.

according to the radio 2GBthe trainer was seen walking his dog without a mask on the outskirts of Sydney, three days after testing positive.

The rules in force in the state of New South Wales require seven days isolation for people who test positive for covid-19 and, therefore, cannot leave the house, except to buy medicine or in an emergency.

The FFA also reported that the coach apologized for what it called “an error in judgment”.

“I will also accept the sanctions that come as a result of this mistake,” Arnold said.

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Here is Australia’s 25-player squad for our final two Group B #AsianQualifiers.

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— Socceroos (@Socceroos) March 17, 2022

The money from the fine will go to a special Red Cross fund to help victims of floods on Australia’s east coast.

The Australian national team has two decisive games for a place in the world Cup of Qatar: on Thursday, against Japan, and on March 29, against Saudi Arabia, in Group B of the Asian Qualifiers.

Australia needs both wins to qualify directly for the World Cup. Otherwise, they will have to play a repechage against the third-placed team in Group A.