It is high time for BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke that the Bundesliga continue after the Corona break. He shoots violently against all critics.
- The Bundesliga * has been paused because of the coronavirus pandemic * since mid-March
- It is now foreseeable that league operations will resume soon
- BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke is pleased - but brings all sorts of criticism
Munich - may the ball roll now or not? At the moment it seems almost as if this is the crucial question in German society. In the discussion of whether the Bundesliga should start again from mid-May or not, you will probably get more than two different opinions.
The current status is that the DFL has presented politicians with a master plan * to show how soccer games could take place under the high security requirements in the coronavirus pandemic * . For Hans-Joachim Watzke, restarting the Bundesliga would be a " certificate of quality for what the Germans have achieved in this crisis," Borussia Dortmund's managing director told Spiegel .
Above all, however, from the point of view of science * there is sometimes fierce criticism of the Bundesliga plans . The BVB boss cannot understand this and attacks SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach sharply. “I don't think he has time to take a call from me because he's on talk shows non-stop . It is omnipresent, ”said Watzke .
Video: Friedrich Merz praises the concept of the DFL
Coronavirus / Bundesliga: Watzke etches against critics - and is thin-skinned at Lanz
He also knows the Lauterbach theses: "Some of them are relatively adventurous, like the fact that there is no capacity for testing," says the BVB boss: "He has his firm opinion, which he also consistently delivers. You have to accept that. I have a different opinion. "
Watzke is pushing for the restart of the interrupted Bundesliga season * in May. "It is completely out of the question that it will only be played in June, then you can forget it right away," said the 60-year-old, referring to the tight soccer program *: "We still have nine games to play, we still have relegation days and then there's the DFB Cup . And we have to expect that a game will also fail. ”
Watzke also sees no reason to delay the decision to start again: “We have presented the government with a 41-page health concept and are still in the process of expanding it further at the request of politicians. If that wears, it doesn't matter whether we play on May 9 or May 16, the situation is the same. Every week later it becomes critical *. "
Coronavirus / Bundesliga: Watzke with arrogance attack on talk show
Curiously, Watzke was also a guest on a talk show on Tuesday evening . The BVB boss discussed with Markus Lanz politicians, systems biologists and representatives of the Ethics Council on the topic of the Bundesliga in the coronavirus pandemic *. However, Watzke did not show his best side.
Almost bored, he listened to the statements of Professor Michael Meyer-Hermann , who spoke out against loosening the corona measures . When Watzke finally got his say, he explained why it was justifiable for professionals to be allowed to play football again, but not for children, for example: “We have a branch of work with 56,000 employees. We just want to do our job according to the highest security standards, ”explained Watzke .
Coronavirus / Bundesliga: BVB boss Watzke with a bad appearance at Lanz
When the question came up, what would happen if a player became infected with the corona virus and they then had to be quarantined, Watzke reacted thin-skinned. "Now I'm not going into the operational area of the DFL and say when a game will be rescheduled that goes a bit too far."
When Lanz correctly pointed out that the French had canceled their season *, Watzke argued : "I do not want to go into the fact that they already know who will be champions there in September". This caused a lot of laughter in the group, as the champions in the Bundesliga have always been called FC Bayern * in the past seven years.
"Obviously, the French have not succeeded in convincing politicians of their security concept - if there was one -" continued Watzke : "We have been in close contact with the political leaders for weeks."
On April 30, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the federal states will continue to discuss the Corona crisis - and presumably also the resumption of the Bundesliga .
smk / dpa / sid
* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital network
