Nashville SC head coach Gary Smith misses FC Dallas match after false positive COVID-19 test

Gary Smith - Nashville SC - sideline instruction

Nashville SC head coach was not at Wednesday's night's game against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, after Smith was unable to travel due to COVID-19 testing results that were ultimately confirmed to be negative, the club announced. Assistant coach Steve Guppy took charge of the team.


Smith had a COVID-19 test that incorrectly returned a positive result earlier in the week before two subsequent tests came back negative, resulting in a confirmed negative. However, the result of the second negative test did not come back in time for Smith to join Nashville's traveling party and so he stayed behind as a precautionary measure.


Wednesday's game was the first for both Nashville and Dallas since March after both clubs were withdrawn from the MLS is Back Tournament following several positive COVID-19 tests.