The corona virus slows down football and the Champions League. The season in France's Ligue 1 is apparently now being canceled.
- Due to the corona pandemic *, the ball rests almost all over the world.
- In Italy there are alternative solutions, in the Bundesliga still no clarity.
- More news about the Corona crisis and the top European leagues can be found here.
Update of April 29, 8.25 a.m .: According to the new regulations in France in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, association president Noel Le Graet has ended the football season. “The decision to stop playing is the right one. Health is a priority, ”said Le Graet of the sports newspaper“ L'Equipe ”. The league association LFP announced to assess the measures and to convene a general assembly.
The influential Lyon boss Jean-Michel Aulas does not want to put up with a league end and suggests playoffs . No wonder, Champions League participant Olympique Lyon is only seventh in the table and would no longer be represented internationally. Le Graet wants to at least save the national cup and host the final between PSG and AS Saint-Etienne in early August.
As head of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi only has his sights on the European premier class. “We plan for the Champions League whenever and wherever it is played. If it is not possible to play in France, we will play abroad, ”said Al-Khelaifi. The UEFA is considering to bring the European Cup in August over yet.
Update from April 28, 8:07 pm: The whistle also in Argentina : In the South American country, all football competitions have been stopped. The association announced. Because of the corona virus , the Superleague had been paused since mid-March. The new season is scheduled to start in January 2021.
The association also regulated the promotion and relegation rules : there will be no ascents or descents until 2022. The places for the international competitions Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana in the coming year will be allocated according to the last table positions of the clubs.
Update from April 28, 4:17 p.m .: So now! France's original plan was to end the season from mid-June due to the Coronaviurs pandemic , but it has now apparently been overturned. As L'Equipe and RMC Sport report, the current season in Ligue 1 is now being canceled.
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe will therefore announce on Tuesday that no sporting events will take place until August - and that the season will not be ended with ghost games . Instead, the new season should start in September.
The promoters and relegators will then be decided from May. Paris Saint-Germain with Thomas Tuchel is currently clearly in first place. SC Amiens and FC Toulouse are relegated after 28 match days.
Seasonal end in France: Association wants to follow government recommendation
The league association LFP later announced that it "wanted to continue following the advice of the government in this health crisis". A meeting was scheduled for Thursday to discuss "the sporting and economic implications" of the Prime Minister's announcement. Only then can the end of the season be formally decided.
Borussia Dortmund could now benefit from the end of the season . The BVB concrete interest is PSG defender Thomas Meunier rumored. Meunier, whose rumors are said to have already reached an agreement with Dortmund, has only one contract in Paris until June 2020. His decision could now be accelerated by the end of the season.
Coronavirus: Season end in Ligue 1 - France decides on promotion and relegation in May
Update April 27, 19:17: The UEFA uses its 55 member associations in times of crisis Corona with a grant under the arms. UEFA announced Monday that € 236.5 million will be released for the associations to help them overcome the challenges of the pandemic in their respective countries.
What is the current situation in the individual countries? An overview of where and when to play again.
Update from April 27, 3:45 pm: Revolutionary idea in the corona crisis : FIFA wants to increase the number of substitutions per game per team from three to five times.
Corresponding English media reports were confirmed by the World Football Association on Monday. However, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has to make a decision about a rule change.
Football to Corona: Fifa proposes five substitutions per team and game
The Fifa will allow players from increased risk of injury to protect. If the game operation resumes soon, the burden for the professionals through the Corona break is significantly higher.
For example, physiotherapists recently warned against this.
On the one hand, the professionals got out of rhythm, on the other hand, they had to train without physical contact - and thus without duels. A very compact game plan is also expected after the restart.
"In this context, there are fears that the above-average number of games could increase the risk of potential injuries due to the resulting overloading of the players," said the international association: "Player security is one of FIFA's main priorities ."
Because of Corona: soon five changes in football?
© dpa / Franz-Peter Tschauner
Striking: The new regulation could also apply to the European Football Championship postponed to next year (June 11 to July 11, 2021).
Should a game go into extra time, an additional substitution would be allowed as before, it said. However, it is at the discretion of the leagues - like the Bundesliga - and the associations - like the Uefa - whether they want to implement the exception or not.
Bundesliga in the corona crisis: Ultras position themselves against ghost games
Update from April 18, 5.41 p.m .: Ghost games seem to be the only way to see football again in the future, but are criticized by the Ultras. German football is "sick enough" and "still belongs in quarantine." The fan scenes in Duetschland have now clearly positioned themselves.
Update of April 18, 4:37 p.m .: The Italian Football Association (FIGC) is pressing for series A to be resumed soon . A restart could be possible between late May and early June, FIGC President Gabriele Gravina told Rai 1. First, however, a strict health protocol had to be observed. He hoped that all teams - without fans - could play in their own stadium, even in the particularly affected north
Update from April 16, 3:20 p.m .: The French Football Association declares the season of amateur footballers over . Similar decisions have already been taken in England and the Netherlands.
All competitions will be ended up to and including the fourth men's league . The seasons for women only take place in the top two leagues .
Rummenigge during Corona crisis: "Are a good example for politics and for the German people"
Update from April 16: When the ball will roll again, it is not foreseeable nationally or internationally. Bavaria's CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge fears that the corona crisis will cause considerable damage to football. “I think the market will suffer a lot because everyone has spent more and more on transfers and salaries over the past 20 years. Now is the time of liquidity. "
Chief executive of FC Bayern: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
© dpa / Roland Frankincense
Those who have liquid funds will "handle them very carefully," said Rummenigge in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera .
Given the problems, Rummenigge hopes that the Champions League * can also be played to the end : “We have to find solutions to bring this season to an end. There are already sporting and economic damages. "
In this context, the Bayern boss praised the sense of responsibility of the professionals. “Nobody likes to lose part of their salary. Solidarity is particularly important at this moment at all levels, among people and among states, ”said Rummenigge.
Solidarity is also strong among the Bundesliga clubs: "I believe that we are a good example for politics and for the German people."
Corona virus / soccer: Serie A stars are to be quarantined before launch
April 15 update: Italy's first division soccer players are scheduled to quarantine three months before a possible Serie A restart. During this period, the professionals in their clubs' training centers should be subjected to strict health checks cut off from the outside world and be able to start training in small groups, reported the Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
One hurdle is that only half of all first division teams have training centers in which players and coaches can be accommodated over a longer period of time, the paper reported. According to the head of Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malago, the possibility of quarantine would be an option for Serie A, but not for the lower classes. "But you can't just think of the top league," said Malago.
Italy's Vice Minister of Health, Pierpaolo Sileri, considers it impossible to restart the series under the current conditions. "It's unrealistic to think about playing games and opening the stadiums while an epidemic is still going on," said Sileri. With 21,000 deaths, Italy is one of the countries most affected by the corona virus worldwide.
Football / Corona virus: UEFA has a spectacular plan for the Champions League
Update from April 15: Football is not yet an option in the current Corona crisis . The ball will probably not roll across Europe until mid-May. Only then are the respective leagues expected to be completed as ghost games .
But what's next with the Champions League *? Spanish media are now reporting that UEFA, together with the European club association ECA, is considering a Final 8 tournament in August!
Currently, people are looking for a neutral place where the teams and the whole staff could live in isolation for a few weeks, reports El Mundo Deportivo , for example . There should be strict medical checks in this Champions League center . The quarter-finals and the semi-finals would be played without a second leg.
The problem is that the round of 16 has not yet ended because the coronavirus pandemic thwarted the plan in mid-March. So FC Bayern * actually has to play its second leg against Chelsea . And between Real Madrid and Manchester City , no decision has yet been made about progress.
Football / Corona Virus: Games with viewers only in autumn 2021?
Update from April 14: Many football fans hope that the top leagues will be continued soon . The President of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is pessimistic about this and expects football matches with spectators in the worst case until deep in 2021:
Empty ranks: How long will football fans have to do without their favorite hobby?
© dpa / Kathrin Brunnhofer
"It will certainly take many months, it can be up to one and a half years," said Gerald Haug on ARD . The corona pandemic only ends "when we have a vaccine". A gradual opening of society must be well prepared and flanked by protective measures. There is in terms of vaccine but also "optimistic predictions" than about 18 months.
For this reason, Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) can imagine that the stadiums will be played again in autumn. "I very much hope that we will be able to get a health situation that will make it possible again," he said in the BR.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the prime ministers of the federal states will meet on Wednesday (April 15) to discuss how to proceed. SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach, meanwhile, shares an assessment that also puts a severe damper on hopes of an early Bundesliga start.
At Liverpool FC, they are trying musically - with little resounding success, as Jürgen Klopp admits.
Italy: Do all teams play without VAR in Rome? FIFA probably for a third transfer window
Update from April 12: Due to the corona pandemic *, appointments are currently being made in all areas. The FIFA now attracts with, and provides a third transfer window in view. So far it was possible in the summer phase for twelve weeks and up to four weeks in the winter transfer phase to sign players or to hand them over.
Will Ronaldo and Co. soon play all the games in Rome?
© dpa / Fabio Ferrari
Now the world association indicated a third transfer window . "What we could now see in the crisis would be that associations open an additional, third transfer window," said James Kitching , FIFA Director Football Regulatory, in the ARD sports show on the current recommendations. "We would handle that flexibly if the total time of 16 weeks was not exceeded."
April 10 update: While resuming the game after the corona pandemic * is the top priority in many countries, including Germany, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino warned of the consequences of an early start.
Corona virus / football: FIFA boss Infantino warns of leagues' early start
The head of the association said in a video message, “No game, no competition, no league is worth risking a single human life . Everyone in the world should have this in mind with absolute clarity ”. He further said, "It would be more than irresponsible to force competitions to continue if the situation is not 100% certain."
Despite the new economic difficulties for associations, leagues and clubs as a result of the Corona crisis *, the Swiss continued to exhort patience. “If it is necessary to wait a little longer, then we have to do it. It is better to wait a little longer than to take any risks, ”said Infantino .
Corona virus / football: Serie A only in Rome? This is what the model could look like
The FIFA was willing at least to minimize the economic risks as possible, without giving any details of recently made the prospect of aid flows. However, Infantino guaranteed a transparent distribution . “You can be sure that we are there and that we will find solutions together. The world will know where the money is going and, equally important, why the money is going there, ”said the boss of the association that has been responsible for a number of corruption scandals in recent years.
First announcement of April 7th: The Corona crisis * hits professional sports in the market. In Italy in particular , there has been an intensive search for a solution for the end of the 2019/20 series A season . An extreme possibility to end the season is currently being discussed. The league bosses advise a central solution, according to La Repubblica .
Corona virus / football: Serie A only in Rome? This is what the model could look like
According to the daily newspaper, all twelve remaining match days will be played in Rome according to this plan . It would be a radical solution that would be implemented for the first time. This means that all 20 league teams would have to stay in the capital for some time. However, the games would be played to the exclusion of fans * and reporters. Training sessions and games would take place in the facilities available to the capital.
Centralizing game operations could also be beneficial as it would make it easier for players and staff to perform regular tests . The approach would significantly reduce travel to the games, and contact with people outside the club would be minimal.
The central solution would mean, at the same time, without continuing to play the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) , but this would require an agreement signed by all Serie A teams .
Southern Italy is significantly less affected than Lombardy, which is most affected by the corona pandemic *.
Corona virus / soccer: Virologist gives statement on Bundesliga situation
But what about the Bundesliga *? Virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit sees a possible resumption of football Bundesliga operations *, despite the planned ghost games, a danger for fans . "I see the risk in broadcasting the games," he told Sky Sport News HD . “When these games are broadcast, I think fans want to enjoy it together. It will certainly be very difficult to prevent groups from forming. ”
The fact that spectators could fill the stadiums again in the foreseeable future is not practical for the specialist. “From a virological point of view, I can let fans into the stadium who have already had an infection. Or I spread the fans so far apart that they cannot get infected. But these are all scenarios that nobody could wish for in football, ”said Schmidt-Chanasit.
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* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
FC Bayern are also looking for a Lewandowski backup during the Corona break, a player has now confirmed FCB's interest.
Rubric list image: © dpa / Claude Paris
