On Sunday, 1. FC Union assumed that, due to Israeli entry regulations, they would only be allowed to take vaccinated and recovered professionals to the European Cup match with Maccabi Haifa. However, as the Israeli embassy pointed out on Monday, there are exceptions to the otherwise applicable rules for sports teams.
“Israel currently has a special procedure for sports delegations,” the Israeli Embassy in Berlin announced on Monday, explaining:“All delegation members will undergo a corona examination upon landing and will be in full quarantine until they receive a negative diagnosis.
In case of a negative decision, all delegation members will be accommodated in a separate hotel and will only be allowed to go to the training ground and back (if there is a training session before the match). The same applies to the match: there and back to the hotel.” When asked, Boris M. Peltonen, deputy spokesman for the Embassy of the State of Israel, confirmed that this regulation applies regardless of the vaccination status of those travelling, i.e. unvaccinated players are also allowed to enter the country.
We know that all the players who are going will have no problem getting in.
In the squad of 1. FC Union, which does not disclose the vaccination status of its players, two professionals are said to be unvaccinated. At least that’s what attacker Max Kruse reported via streaming portal “Twitch “ almost a fortnight ago. The exemption for athletes who have to go into quasi-working quarantine in Israel means that Union coach Urs Fischer can call on all available players registered for the European Cup – including unvaccinated professionals. “We are so covered by the regulations, whether recovered, vaccinated, tested or anything else, that we know all the players who are going will have no problem getting in,” manager Oliver Ruhnert told on Monday evening.
On Sunday afternoon, however, the club had explained on the fringes of a media round with coach Fischer that it assumed that only vaccinated and recovered players would be allowed to travel to Israel. Union did not speak of the possibility of an exemption, which is mentioned in the Israeli entry regulations, the day after the 2:0 in the derby against Hertha BSC
It is clear that the Eisernen will have to do without the suspended Christopher Trimmel and Cedric Teuchert for the match in Haifa. The duo had seen the yellow-red and red card respectively in the 1:2 against Feyenoord Rotterdam. Fischer hopes that defender Paul Jaeckel, who according to the club has been out of action with an infection, will recover in time.
