J. League game cancelled as players test positive

Japan's J.League said on Sunday it was cancelling a match between Nagoya Grampus and Sanfrecce Hiroshima scheduled later in the day after players tested positive for the coronavirus.

Two players and a staff member on the Nagoya team tested positive for the virus, media reports said.

Football's top division restarted its season in early July after four months of delays due to the pandemic.

Nagoya defender Kazuya Miyahara developed a fever and headache on Friday and tested positive for the virus. The team tested 60 players and officials, with another player and a staff member testing positive.

"We had a meeting in the morning and decided to cancel this game," J-League chairman Mitsuru Murai told local media. "I think the way the team conducted itself was appropriate. But the fact that positive cases have been detected tells us that we need to continue to work on our infection prevention measures."

Major sports resumed competitions in front of a limited number of fans over the past few weeks under strict infection-prevention protocols.

Eight other first-division games on Sunday were expected to go ahead as scheduled. The J-League returned to action behind closed doors in June and began allowing fans into stadiums earlier this month.

Japan reported 809 new cases on Saturday, compared with 99 cases a month ago and 27 cases on May 26.