The Chicago Fire’s match against Minnesota United was postponed Wednesday evening because of what Major League Soccer called a “suspected case of COVID-19” among Minnesota players and staff.
The league made the announcement less than two hours before the scheduled 7 p.m. start and several hours after the Fire arrived in Saint Paul, Minn., for the match.
This is the second straight postponement for Minnesota, whose weekend match against FC Dallas was called off because of two positive tests among the Loons first team.
Asked Sunday about Minnesota’s COVID-19 cases, Fire coach Raphael Wicky reiterated the importance of adhering to protocols.
“I think everyone, including me, everyone needs the reminders often, all the time,” Wicky said, “because it’s human that sometimes you think, ‘I’m hanging out with my family, I’m hanging out with my teammates and I can be a little bit careless,’ but that’s not the case.
“So far, we were very disciplined and we’re lucky, but it’s something you have to get used to it. It’s not, ‘OK, we have to do it for two more weeks, for three more weeks.’ It’s right now, it’s normal life, and we have to be disciplined and take this virus serious.”
Because MLS requires its teams to complete same-day travel for road games, the Fire departed from Chicago around 10:30 Wednesday morning.
MLS said a makeup time will be announced at a later date.
