The European Handball Federation (EHF) drew a positive conclusion from the European Handball Championships in Hungary and Slovakia, despite a number of player absences due to corona. Despite the difficult circumstances, they managed to deliver “another top event in European handball in a satisfactory manner”, said EHF President Michael Wiederer at the official final press conference on Saturday in Budapest.
Above all, Wiederer emphasized the sporting quality of the European Championships. “I can’t remember seeing so many top-level matches at a European Championship,” said the EHF boss: “The players gave their souls for the game.” According to Wiederer, he “regrets” the fact that players were repeatedly unable to play due to corona infections. In the current time with the rampant omicron wave, however, it could not have been prevented.
By the final weekend in Budapest, over 100 players had been diagnosed with positive corona during or in the run-up to the European Championship and had to go into quarantine for at least five days. The German team, which finished the tournament in seventh place, was hit particularly hard with 17 players infected at the end.