Dynamo's trip to Krasnodar postponed after three players test positive for virus

Alexander Hassenstein, getty

Dynamo Moscow's Russian Premier League clash at Krasnodar has been pushed back almost a month after three of their players including former Tottenham forward Clinton Njie tested positive for coronavirus.

The match is part of the already troubled first round of fixtures sinces the pandemic shut down the league for three months.

"The match between Krasnodar and Dynamo Moscow will be played on July 19," the Russian football federation said in a statement following a meeting of its executive committee.

The federation added that both clubs agreed with the decision to postpone the match.

Cameroon international Njie, Burkino Faso midfielder Charles Kabore and Poland international Sebastian Szymanski tested positive for COVID-19, Dynamo said.

Dynamo said the three players had been placed in a two-week quarantine under medical supervision.

The rest of the squad, coaches and staff have been confined to Dynamo's training centre just outside Moscow since Saturday, the statement added.

On Friday fellow Russian Premier League Rostov outfit were thrashed 10-1 by Sochi after being forced to field a team of teenagers after six of their first-team squad tested positive for the virus.

Rostov, fourth in the table, had tried unsuccessfully to get the game postponed and Sochi were heavily criticised for insisting the match go ahead and then fielding a strong team against such inexperienced opponents.

Krasnodar currently sit third in Russia's top flight, level on 41 points with Lokomotiv Moscow in second and 12 points behind leaders Zenit Saint Petersburg. Dynamo are seventh in the 16-team league.

Russia has registered more than 8,000 fatalities and nearly 577,000 coronavirus infections, the third-largest infection number after the United States and Brazil.