The mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, Juan Franco, banned a friendly match between Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the city in southern Spain due to the Ebola outbreak in the African country.
“I have just issued the decree prohibiting the match scheduled for June 9th, at the municipal stadium, between the teams of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile,” said Franco in an audio recording released by the city hall this Tuesday (2).
The mayor justified his decision by claiming “a matter of sanitary prudence”, following the recommendations of the regional government’s health department.
The measure is also based “on a report issued by the head of the Health Service of the City of La Línea, which strongly advises against holding this match, given the potential health risks.”
Franco regretted the decision, but considered it “the most prudent” given the situation in the African country “in relation to the Ebola virus and the documentation presented, which does not prove that there is no risk of any kind.”
On Monday (1st), the mayor had already warned that he would not authorize the departure unless he received health guarantees.
The game against Chile is the second friendly match that the Congolese team had scheduled to play in Europe in its preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
The African team also has a game scheduled against Denmark this Wednesday (3), in Liège, Belgium.
An advisor to the Congolese team reported on May 21 that the team canceled the start of preparations in Kinshasa and transferred it to Belgium, without specifying the reason for the change of plans.
“No player who plays for a national club was called up” for the national team, he clarified.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in Group K of the World Cup alongside Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan.
Chile, which is out of the World Cup, has a friendly scheduled for next Saturday (6) against Portugal, in Oeiras, a city close to Lisbon.
