Tokyo Olympics: Samoan sevens sides stranded in Dubai after missing qualification

Kenya's Jeffery Oluoch makes a break during the World Rugby Sevens Series match between Samoa and Kenya at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on February 3, 2018. [AFP PHOTO / MICHAEL BRADLEY]

Samoa's national rugby sevens teams are stranded in Dubai after missing out on qualification for the Tokyo Games, a Samoan Olympic official said on Thursday.

The Samoa Observer newspaper reported players and staff from the men's and women's teams were denied passage on a repatriation flight from Dubai to New Zealand after an "apparent failure" to comply with the Samoan government's COVID-19 health requirements.