Five players on the Icelandic men’s national handball team will not be able to play in the team’s European Handball Championship match tonight, as they have tested positive for COVID-19. It is a huge blow to the team, which finished at the top of their group in the preliminary round of the tournament. One of the two Icelandic referees in the tournament has also tested positive for COVID-19.
Iceland’s handball team is set to play its first match in the main round of the European Handball Championships tonight, against Denmark. The Icelandic team won all three of their matches in the preliminary round, which they finished off with a 31-30 victory over Hungary in Budapest last Tuesday.
Yesterday evening, the Icelandic Handball Association reported that three players had tested positive for COVID-19: Björgvin Páll Gústavsson, Elvar Örn Jónsson, and Ólafur Andrés Guðmundsson. This morning, the association reported another two COVID-19 cases within the team, those of Aron Pálmarsson and Bjarki Már Elísson. One of the Icelandic referees at the competition, Anton Gylfi Pálsson, also tested positive for COVID. The players have little to no symptoms, according to reports.
Iceland’s President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is on his way to Hungary to attend tonight’s match against Denmark, as well as the handball team’s match against France on January 22.
