Swiss Soccer President Blanc Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The Swiss federation said 70-year-old Dominique Blanc got the results of a test on Sunday morning and isolated himself at his home.

BERN, Switzerland — The president of Switzerland’s soccer federation has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Swiss federation said 70-year-old Dominique Blanc got the results of a test on Sunday morning and isolated himself at his home.

“I feel pretty good right now and have only mild flu symptoms,” Blanc said in a statement released by the federation. He was tested after developing a sore throat and mild cough.

The headquarters of Swiss soccer in Bern has been closed and staff who had recent contact with Blanc have received medical advice, the federation said.

Blanc attended the annual meeting of European soccer body UEFA on March 3, and raised the issue of consequences for shutting down domestic soccer with leaders from 55 member countries.

“Due to the coronavirus we are in a situation that could shake, for a part of us, our professional football to its foundations,” Blanc said in Amsterdam.

The day before Blanc spoke, Switzerland was among the first countries in Europe to suspend its national league due to the spreading risk of COVID-19.

Switzerland’s soccer federation will take part in conference call talks with UEFA on Tuesday to discuss plans for how or if to restart the European soccer season which is now in almost total shutdown.

On Saturday, Serbia’s soccer body said its president, the 42-year-old Slaviša Kokeza, had tested positive for the virus.