LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Portuguese league on Wednesday announced stricter measures against the coronavirus after outbreaks at some of its clubs.
The league said crowds will be limited to 5,000 and fans must provide negative test results or proof they recovered from COVID-19.
Players will be tested 48 hours before matches and those on the bench will be required to wear masks.
The new measures were crafted in a meeting between league officials and health authorities after Portugal entered a so-called state of calamity to curb an upward trend in infections.
Earlier Wednesday, health authorities ordered all members of club Tondela to go into isolation and its home match against Moreirense on Saturday was postponed until January.
Belenenses, which had to start its match against Benfica with nine players at the weekend, had 19 cases of the new omicron variant confirmed.
Portuguese media said Sporting defender Sebastián Coates also was infected and the team was waiting for the results from tests conducted with the rest of the squad.
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