Coronavirus in sport: Hertha Berlin's Salomon Kalou suspended over handshake video

Bengaluru, May 5: Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin suspended forward Salomon Kalou after he posted video on Facebook which showed himself and team-mates shaking hands and displaying a casual approach towards the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic guidelines.

The club also said in a statement that "this was the conduct of a single player" and denied that the squad do not take social distancing and hygiene rules seriously.

The Ivorian apologised for his behaviour which the Bundesliga described as absolutely unacceptable and which some media suggested could even hamper the German football league's hopes of re-starting after the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bundesliga has been suspended since mid-March but is hoping to convince the government that it is safe to restart in the next few weeks.

Most of the teams have resumed training though three players/staff from the FC Cologne camp were recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus in sport: FC Cologne confirm three positive cases after resuming training

Hertha, which said that the film was made after the entire squad had tested negative for coronavirus, admitted that the video at one point showed players shaking hands while Kalou was also seen to interrupt a team-mates' medical test.

"Salomon Kalou's video from the dressing-room violated basic team rules and showed behaviour that is neither appropriate to the situation nor in accordance with the club's rules of conduct," said the statement.

Hertha BSC’s statement on Salomon Kalou’s Facebook video: https://t.co/cbbxSVjtyA#hahohe pic.twitter.com/J32VHctFft

— Hertha Berlin (@HerthaBSC_EN) May 4, 2020

"Hertha BSC has therefore decided to suspend him from training and playing with immediate effect."

It added: "Salomon Kalou was tempted by the negative test results to greet his team-mates in his dressing room, sometimes with a handshake, contrary to the clear announcements of the hygiene officer," it added.

Hertha's general manager Michael Preetz said that Kalou had caused the club "a great deal of damage" and "created the impression that individual players are not taking the corona issue seriously."

Preetz said the club had "intensively" explained hygiene and distance rules to all its employees.

Former Chelsea, Lille and Feyenoord forward Kalou, who has made around 90 appearances for Ivory Coast, apologised.

"I didn't really think about it and I was glad that our tests were all negative," he said,

(With inputs from Bundesliga/Agencies)