Over 100 cases: The handball European Championship is overshadowed by Corona

Pandemic The German Corona-Undersinn as a symbol: at the handball European Championships, the sport degenerates into a minor matter

The European Handball Championship in Hungary and Slovakia is overshadowed by countless positive cases.Over 100 players have become infected with the coronavirus.The European Handball Association also has its share in this.An intermediate conclusion.

The European Handball Championship in Hungary and Slovakia is in full swing.The remaining teams are currently fighting for the semi -finals, the tournament winner will be determined next Sunday in Budapest.Time for initial findings that are only partially sporty in nature.

1.This EM will be remembered for Corona

Anyone who has to do with the handball European Championship should have asked themselves this question in advance: Can that go well?Well, one week before the end of the tour, the answer can be given prematurely: No, it didn't go well.

Despite all the beautiful goals and wild game courses, this European Championship, especially because of the Coronavirus, will continue in collective memory.And the European Handball Federation (EHF) also has a decisive share in this.The organizer should actually be a request that the spectacle offered flickers over the TV screens without intermediate tones.After the beginning of the year, these events are always intended as advertising for handball sports, how to be pronounced in a regular basis.Instead, the EHF allows the overwhelming omikron wave to dominate the discussion.Over 100 players of the 24 participating teams have now been infected with the coronavirus.

Certainly: The infection paths of the new virus variant are unpredictable.Nevertheless, the problems are homemade.The association has refrained from building a tournament bubble, just as that of the World Association IHF practiced at the World Cup in Egypt a year ago.A uniform concept on this European Championship is only missing, only in terms of the conditions in the venues.While a viewer restriction of 25 percent applies in Slovakia, the halls in the neighboring country of Hungary are fully utilized.The latter is due to the instructions of the government of Viktor Orban, but the EHF missed to counteract this with sharper contamination measures.

The teams are now being tested every day, but even that doesn't seem to work properly.Serbia's coach Antoni Gerona, for example, wrote on Twitter of a “chaotic organization” and reported on long waiting times.In addition, the national players in the hotels repeatedly meet hotel guests who apparently do not want to know anything about masking obligation.

EHF general secretary Martin Hausleitner told the “German press agency” that, given the dynamic development.A demolition still seems excluded because he would cost the association a lot of money.For this reason alone, one will hold on to the continuation until the end.

2.Positive, negative, positive-the German corona-spirit sense

Many nations have had numerous positive cases in the past few days.Poland is to be mentioned, Serbia and Northern Macedonia, or finally Iceland.But none of the participants got it as bad as Germany.

13 German players have failed until Sunday through positive tests.National coach Alfred Gislason basically had to nominate a completely new team.He reactivated the 39-year-old goalkeeper Johannes Bitter, who recently gave his resignation from the DHB team.

The most bizarre Volte of this European.The comparison against Spain (23:29) on Thursday should actually miss the positively tested Steinert.One hour before the start of the game he reached the news that his test was wrong, that is, negative.Steinert grabbed the sports shoes, shouldered the bag and ran from the hotel to the hall.He missed the warming up, in the second half he was used.The next day against Norway (23:28) Steinert played just to test the Coronavirus positively on Saturday.Steinert's emotional roller coaster ride reached its low point.The 32-year-old spends the rest of the tournament in isolation.

3.It is the European Championships

In addition to all Corona headlines, this European Handball Championship also produces sporty sublime.And illustrated that the little ones are no longer willing to bend the supposed superiority of the great.The Netherlands, for example, truly no significant handball nation, inspire with a lavish offensive around Kay Smits, the previous top goal scorer of the tournament.Montenegro plays with such a fire that none of the other teams inherent.Also with the promotion of the Russians in the main round, hardly any expert expected, and also not with the fact that the Icelanders (weakened by Corona) win against the clear favorite France with 29:21.

So far it has been the European Championship of the surprises, and yet in the end one of the usual suspects will probably triumph.Due to the previous impressions, the Danes and the Spaniards are the most logical title candidates.Two teams from the trio of France, Sweden and Norway are likely to complete the semi -final table.If not the coronavirus has completely different plans again.

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