ISL side FC Goa have already been eliminated from the AFC Champions League. However, they are yet to play one final group match against Al Wahda on Thursday. They are expected to be without their foreign players for the game due to lockdown restrictions.
The group of FC Goa’s foreign players includes Edu Bedia, Jorge Ortiz and Ivan Gonzalez. Meanwhile, head coach Juan Ferrando and conditioning coach Javi Gonzalez have also left the camp to avoid getting stuck in the country. All of the players and coaches mentioned above are from Spain, with the country expected to impose a mandatory quarantine for people travelling from India. Australian defender James Donachie has also left the camp. He will also travel to Madrid for the time being.
“If they don’t make it to Spain tonight, they may get stuck here for another month. Spain will impose a mandatory quarantine for everyone travelling from India. There could be a travel ban too, besides we don’t know about restrictions or a lockdown here. It made sense for them to leave immediately.
We cannot fault the players (for leaving early). They gave everything to this club and were professional in every sense.”
FC Goa club official told Times Of India.
FC Goa will now field an all-Indian line-up in their final group game against Al Wahda, with Seriton Fernandes likely to captain the team. The side is yet to register a win in the competition but came close to doing so in their last match.
A last-minute equalizer cancelled out Ortiz’s early goal, limiting Goa to their third draw from five matches. The Gaurs were eliminated by that point as Al Wahda had beaten Persepolis in the early fixture.
