Lausanne (AFP) – Swiss top-flight outfit FC Sion have terminated the contracts of former Arsenal pair Alex Song and Johan Djourou, as well as of seven of their team-mates, due to the coronavirus pandemic, local media reported on Thursday.

The nine players refused the temporary unemployment terms offered by the club with the Super League postponed until April 30 due to the ongoing outbreak, Swiss news agency ATS claimed.

Sion’s president Christian Constantin has decided to rip up the deals immediately after the players rejected his measures including less training and a salary cap.

Ex-Switzerland international Djourou and former Cameroon midfielder Song are joined by Pajtim Kasami, Ermir Lenjani, Xavier Kouassi, Seydou Doumbia, Mickael Facchinetti, Christian Zock, Birama Ndoye in leaving the two-time Swiss champions.

Switzerland has registered some 3,800 cases of coronavirus, including 33 deaths making the small Alpine country of 8.5 million people one of the hardest-hit by the pandemic compared to its population size.