Mayor Cancels DR Congo Friendly over Ebola Scare
Democratic Republic of Congo’s international friendly against Chile in Spain next week has been cancelled after authorities raised health concerns over the Ebola outbreak in the African nation.
Juan Franco, mayor of the city of La Linea de la Concepcion, has signed a decree which prevents the fixture from going ahead on 9 June as planned.
The decision was described as a “precautionary measure” and comes after recommendations from the Andalusian regional health service and the municipality’s own medical department.
“A report by the head of the mayoralty’s health service of La Linea advised categorically against hosting the match given the health risks which might arise,” Franco said.
La Linea, a coastal resort in the of around 65,000 people in the province of Cadiz close to the Gibraltar border, had been due to host the match as both nations continued their preparations for the World Cup.
DR Congo are currently based in Belgium after they cancelled a planned pre-tournament training campin the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.
BBC Sport understands that none of DR Congo’s players – who all play for clubs outside of the country – have visited their homeland recently, but some support staff and fans have travelled from there.
DR Congo are scheduled to face Denmark in a friendly in Liege on Wednesday.
David Alaba Given All-Clear, Baumgartner Out of Mundial
Austria Captain, David Alaba, has been given the all-clear to travel for the World Cup after picking up a muscle injury on Monday but midfielder Christoph Baumgartner has been ruled out of the tournament.
Former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid defender Alaba was substituted at half-time of Austria’s 1-0 friendly win against Tunisiabut has been passed fit to travel to the United States with the rest of the squad.
It is not such positive news for RB Leipzig midfielder Baumgartner, however.
The 26-year-old suffered a thigh muscle injury during Monday’s pre-match warm-up and has been ruled out of the World Cup, the country’s football association confirmed on Tuesday.
Baumgartner is one of Austria’s more important players and enjoyed a fantastic season in Germany, scoring 17 goals and providing nine assists in all competitions for the Bundesliga club.
“This is of course very bitter news for Christoph and for us as a team,” coach Ralf Rangnick said in a statement.
“He is an important player and a central personality within our team. Now our full support is for his recovery.”
Austria’s World Cup campaignbegins against Jordan on 16 June before taking on reigning world champions Argentina on 22 June and rounding off against Algeria on 28 June.
