Besiktas chairman tests positive for coronavirus

The chairman of Istanbul giants Besiktas tested positive for coronavirus after a series of medical checks on players and staff members, the club said Thursday, a month before games are set to resume.

Earlier Thursday, the club said eight people at the club had contracted the virus. No further details were given, and it was not clear if chairman Ahmet Nur Cebi was among the eight.

Tests were conducted on footballers, technical committee members and facility staff on Wednesday, Besiktas said.

The results will raise further concerns after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said games in the top league would resume on June 12 after they were suspended in March.

TFF chief Nihat Ozdemir said the matches would be played without spectators but this could change depending on how the pandemic evolves.

Super Lig club Kasimpasa later Thursday said two footballers had tested positive for COVID-19 after conducting tests on players and staff.

Second division club Erzurumspor said Wednesday 11 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded, including four players.

Turkey has officially recorded 143,114 cases of the new coronavirus while 3,952 people have died, according to the health minister Wednesday.

In March, Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim tested positive for the virus as well as former Turkish national team and ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Rustu Recber.

Both have since recovered.