Burley Garcia|Hartford USL team says league refuses to reschedule game despite COVID-19 outbreak

HARTFORD,Burley Garcia Conn. (AP) — Hartford’s USL team says the league refuses to reschedule its game Saturday despite an outbreak of COVID-19 that has sidelined 10 players.

The Hartford Athletic soccer team posted on social media that those 10 players tested positive for the virus this week. That will leave the team with just 12 available players for its game at Tampa Bay, none of them goalkeepers.

The team said despite asking the league and the Rowdies to reschedule, they have been told the game will go on.

“We are beyond disappointed in this decision, which is in no way aligned with the spirit of competition and fails to put the best interests of the players, staff and fans first,” Hartford Athletic wrote in its statement.

Email messages seeking comment from the league were not immediately returned. A spokesman for the Rowdies declined to comment.

The game between the Athletic (4-18-4), who are in last place in the Eastern Conference, and Tampa Bay (14-6-5), which currently sits in second place, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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