NWSL announces Washington Spirit will forfeit match against OL Reign

The National Women’s Soccer League has canceled the Washington Spirit match against OL Reign — originally scheduled to be played September 12, 2021, at 5 p.m. — declaring that the Spirit must forfeit the match due to breaches of the league’s medical protocols.

The Saturday announcement states that the “OL Reign will receive three points in the league table and per FIFA guidelines the game will be recorded as 3-0 in favor” of the team.

Last week, the Spirit’s game against the Portland Thorns was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak of cases among the Spirit. Details regarding the rescheduling of the game have yet to be announced.

It is still unclear at this point what specific violations of league protocols occurred. According to Meg Linehan, the club had “multiple” protocol breaches.

The Spirit’s new club president Ben Olsen released a statement following the NWSL’s announcement:

“Although we are disappointed in the NWSL’s decision to issue the Spirit a forfeit, we accept their decision,” Olsen wrote. “We apologize to our fans who we know are disappointed in us. Making this situation right and preparing for our remaining matches are the club’s highest priorities.”