The MLS is Back Tournament is off to a rocky start. And now it’s affecting the Fire.
One day after the league withdrew FC Dallas from the competition because of a spate of positive COVID-19 tests, MLS postponed the Fire’s tournament opener against Nashville SC, originally scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CDT Wednesday. A first-year franchise, Nashville SC has had five players test positive for the novel coronavirus since the team’s July 3 arrival in Orlando, Florida.
MLS did not announce when the match will be played, and it’s unclear whether Nashville SC will even remain in the event.
“In conjunction with the club, MLS will continue to evaluate Nashville SC’s participation in the MLS is Back Tournament following the results of additional testing,” the league said in a news release.
The Fire are still scheduled to face Inter Miami on Tuesday morning, and then New York City FC on July 19. They have had zero positive tests.
As for Nashville, two of the players were confirmed positive over the weekend and three received confirmed positive results Tuesday night. In addition, four other players have received inconclusive test results and need to be tested further. The team has not trained since Tuesday, and its departure for Orlando - originally scheduled for last Wednesday - was held up until Friday.
FC Dallas was pulled from the event after 10 players and one staff member tested positive. The league has not said how it would reconfigure the tournament after FC Dallas’ exit.
“Given the impact of the number of positive tests on the club’s ability to train and play competitive matches, we have made the decision to withdraw FC Dallas from the MLS is Back Tournament,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a statement Monday. “The health of everyone involved in our return to play has always been our top priority, and we will continue to make decisions consistent with that priority.”
The safety of players and everybody involved has been a pressing topic leading up to the tournament, which is supposed to restart the MLS season after it shut down March 12. Both the differing reactions from jurisdictions around the league and the surge in cases just outside the MLS bubble in Orlando have brought concern about the feasibility of the made-for-TV event.
Last week, Fire coach Raphael Wicky was asked about those concerns prior to the team’s travel to Florida.
“We trust (the league) that they will make the right decision,” Wicky said. “If they feel that the players and the staff and everyone is some sort of danger, we trust them that they will make adjustments or other decisions.”
