CROATIA coach Zlatko Dalic says his players fear for their safety on Tuesday night after opponents Scotland were hit by another Covid outbreak in their camp.
Dalic blasted the protocols which forced his team to abandon plans to be based at St Andrews for the duration of the Euros.
And he claims they are playing to different rules to the Scots.
Dalic spoke out after Billy Gilmour tested positive for coronavirus but was the only member of Steve Clarke’s squad to be placed into isolation because they are based in England where coronavirus restrictions are not as strict as those north of the border.
He said: “Today all of my players are afraid and I hope none of them decides not to play because one of the opponents is positive.
“We will have a meeting about the situation but I don’t expect any of them to request this.
“But we were afraid that something like this would happen and we would all end up in isolation with these serious issues.
“I know how much pressure we had when it came to that training camp in Scotland because they told us that if one of us tested positive for the virus we would all have to go into quarantine.
“So instead we have stayed in Croatia and we’re travelling to the UK every three days and taking tests with all the added psychological stress and uncertainty.
“We are also very much harmed because we are playing without our fans.
“With our supporters we are much stronger so this is not really fair.
“We have to travel, we have to keep in isolation all the time, we cannot have Croatian fans. These are not good conditions.
“They should be the same for everyone, but they’re not.
“So I hope this is just a single case which doesn’t go any further.
“Of course we are concerned but unfortunately we have to play this match.”
Croatia, like Scotland, have taken just one point from their first two games in Group D and have to win at Hampden on Tuesday to stay in the competition.
EURO 2020 FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
And Dalic does not believe that the absence of rookie midfielder Gilmour will give his team that much of an advantage.
He said: “It is not good for any team when a player is missing, but Gilmour didn’t start in their first game and I’m sure Scotland has other very good players.
“I don’t think it’s a great blow to be without one player who hasn’t been starting all the time because whoever replaces him will probably have more experience.”
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
