“At the present time, 79 people directly linked to Belenenses SAD are in isolation – not counting the families of our professionals. In this group, 19 are infected with Covid-19, the Omicron variant”, said the team.

Among the 19 infected people, Belenenses SAD specified that "12 are footballers, two belong to the medical department, three belong to the technical team, one is part of the under-23 technical team and two are part of the staff".

“The most infected people presented with symptoms of nasal congestion and a cough, some with fever and myalgia. All are showing a favourable evolution and are being monitored daily by the medical department of Belenenses SAD and also by the General Directorate of Health [DGS]. The presence of the new variant, Omicron, implies an even closer follow-up than normal, either by the DGS or by the club", they explained.

Due to an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that affected players, coaches and elements of the club's structure, Belenenses SAD played with nine players in the game against Benfica, in the 12th round of I League.

The match was suspended at the beginning of the second half, at 48 minutes, after the team had less than the minimum number of footballers legally required for the development of a game (seven).