Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
Valencia captain Daniel Parejo has said his “heart sinks” to think that “3,000” supporters could have been infected with coronavirus during their Champions League match in Milan and “could die in the worst of cases”.
Former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Parejo, 30, made the comments during an interview with radio programme ‘El Larguero’ broadcast by Spanish network ‘Ondacero’.
Parejo said: “We played this match in Milan which was a very important match for us, seeing all those people make the trip to Milan with so much hope, which is not simple. People made a big effort.
“And today, you see a bomb go off and your heart sinks, not just for us who were the protagonists that played but you see people go watch the match with so much hope because sports are life.
“You find about 3,000 people could have been very affected by this without their knowledge, they could affect their families and in the worst of cases, they can even die.”
A reported 2,400 Valencia fans travelled to the Lombardy region in northern Italy to watch their side’s 4-1 loss to Atalanta on 19th February in the San Siro.
The northern Italian region has been one of the most affected areas by the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.
A reported 35 percent of the Valencia squad tested positive of COVID-19 shortly after the match including former Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala, 29, and Jose Luis Gaya, 24.
When speaking about how some the infected players are doing, Parejo said: “Everybody is good. We have a Whatsapp group. We speak a lot. Everybody is well, training and with no traces of symptoms.”
When asked about the potential impact the current suspension on La Liga could have on certain clubs, Parejo said: “In the end, you never know. Some clubs had a great dynamic going like Real Sociedad.
“Hopefully they will continue to play as well but it is true that stops like these are not good for them. Clubs that were not in such a good rhythm, for them, it could be beneficial.
“Let’s hope we all enter back into La Liga as good as possible.”
Valencia suffered a second 4-3 loss to Atalanta in their second leg match which saw the Italian side advance to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Other clubs to advance to the next stage of the Champions League were Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid with four Round of 16 matches pending after they were postponed due to COVID-19.
Spain has been in lockdown since 16th March to stop the spread of the virus as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, 48, has already announced an additional 15 days of quarantine which was initially set to end in the coming days.
Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries by COVID-19 with a reported 47,610 cases leading to 3,434 deaths.
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