Former Arsenal and Barcelona star Alexander Hleb is perplexed when he was asked why his home country Belarus, is still kicking football despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Belarus is also the only Eastern European country that have yet to stop any sporting events, as the president Alexander Lukashenko refused to do so.
Hleb himself has kept his family well isolated at home and could only joke about how ridiculous the situation at the moment.
“All the world now watches the Belarusian league,” Hleb told The Sun. “Everybody should go to their television and see us.
“When the NHL closed the season, a lot of ice hockey players went to Russia to play. Maybe Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo might come to the Belarus league to continue. You know?
“It’s the only place in Europe you can play football. At least then the people of Belarus will be happy.”
The coronavirus has closed the Champions League and the Europa League. This is good, because you have to try and stop it. UEFA have done the right thing.
“But in Belarus, it’s like no one cares. It’s incredible. Maybe in one week or two weeks we will stop here. Maybe our President is just waiting to see what happens with the virus.
“Everybody here knows what’s happened to Italy and Spain. It doesn’t look good. But in our country, people in the presidential administration believe it’s not as extreme as the news says.
“A lot of young people and students here think like this. I’m keeping at home with my family. But when I go out, the streets and restaurants are still busy. They just don’t care. I care about my health and my family. I’m keeping to minimum contact.
“It’s very difficult to explain our country. All leagues have closed but we don’t seem to think it’s a problem. Why? I don’t know.”