Rafael Dudamel, coach of the University of Chile soccer club, broke quarantine to have a technical talk with some players at his house amid the sharp increase in coronavirus cases in the country.
"Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) we had a meeting with a small group of players. My sincerest apologies," said Dudamel on Thursday at a press conference.
The former goalkeeper of the Venezuelan national team admitted that the meeting was an "irresponsibility" in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which shows no signs of relenting in Chile with over one million cases and more than 23,900 deaths. Currently, over 16 million out of 19 million Chileans are under total quarantine.
The meeting, reported by Dudamel's neighbors, took place in the coach's apartment in Santiago, the capital city of Chile, which is currently under lockdown.
The Chilean government has banned all social gatherings and restricted people's movements in quarantined cities to two weekly permits for essential activities such as grocery shopping or medical appointments.
"I clarify that the entire team was not present. It was a very small group to share some content from previous matches," he explained.
The Chilean football league, which began in late March, has been affected by the coronavirus with the death of a member of Everton's coaching staff in the top division, and Curicó Unido had to play the weekend match against La Serena without substitutes due to a COVID-19 outbreak in their squad. AFP