Leipzig (dpa) - The Champions League game between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur takes place on Tuesday as planned with spectators. This was decided by the Leipzig Health Department in an interview with RB officers on the corona crisis, as city spokesman Matthias Hasberg said.
Because of the increasing number of infections, Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) recommended at the weekend that large events with more than 1000 participants be canceled.
The city of Leipzig justified the decision for the game in the football premier class with several points: Great Britain, where the guests come from, is not a Corona risk area. The game is also an open-air event - and the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) would still differentiate between indoor and outdoor events. In addition, the time factor spoke against a cancellation or a ghost game without a spectator.
A decision about the other RB games in the Bundesliga is still pending. The next home game against SC Freiburg is scheduled for Saturday. The city of Leipzig is interested in a nationwide uniform regulation for the Bundesliga, Hasberg said.
Federal Minister of Health Spahn understands that RB Leipzig's Champions League game does not take place without the spectators being excluded. "I found the note (...) important that this is the decision for this upcoming game," said the CDU politician during the federal press conference. "That the fundamental question is not decided." The game was "difficult to cancel at short notice".
At the German Football League, he perceived the endeavor to "come to a uniform approach," said Spahn. In the Bundesliga, no decision has yet been made about whether ghost games can be scheduled.
The "primary goal" is "to slow down the dynamics of the epidemic significantly," said Spahn. It must be graded. "What can we do without for several weeks and months?" Asked the 39-year-old. "It is certainly easier to do without concerts and soccer games than to go to work." Spahn renewed its basic recommendation to suspend events with more than 1000 participants.
