French President Macron calls for Bundesliga demolition? Chancellor Merkel is amazed

The concept for a resumption of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga is ready. Science and politics are fiercely discussing the possibility of ghost games. The news ticker.

• The corona crisis continues to frown in professional German football .
• The third division teams disagree as to whether the season should be played over.
• There is a surprising assessment of the DFB Cup final .
• BVB boss Watzke connects the pandemic with the 50 + 1 rule .

Update of April 30, 6:06 pm: French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to convince his European counterparts after the demolition of Ligue 1 * to do the same, headlined " Le Parisien " on Tuesday. An affront for many fans in Germany . 

Bundesliga in the corona crisis: French President Macron allegedly calls for demolition in Germany

But how does politics react in this country? A decision regarding the Bundesliga sequel * has not yet been made. Angela Merkel now spoke about the corona crisis * and was also asked about the alleged demand from France . 

" No, I haven't heard anything about it, " she contradicts the report from her colleague's appeal , "I have regular contact with the French President , but I have n't heard anything about it ." So important that he has to mention it frequently. seems Emmanuel Macron * therefore probably not be the Bundesliga. In addition, one can assume that the German politicians will make an independent decision.

Seifert wants to turn professional football after the Corona crisis - DFL boss demands historical restrictions

Update from 6:44 p.m .: The question of whether the Bundesliga * will continue has not yet been resolved. But Christian Seifert is already thinking ahead. The DFL boss wants to change professional football after the corona crisis . To this end, a new task force is to be set up in autumn. "We now also need a 'Future Professional Football' task force that must define the framework conditions under which we want to play in the future," said Seifert in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Wednesday). This is the unanimous opinion of the entire DFL Presidium.

Capping of consultant fees: Seifert has already been hostile

The 50-year-old also has an upper salary limit for players in mind. A salary cap is still not compliant with EU law, but: "If new signals are sent by politicians, I will give you the letter and seal that UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is going to the EU and says there: Let’s talk about salary caps, talk about the limits of transfer fees and consultant fees. And I am the first to accompany him, ” continued the FAZ Seifert .

"It is also certain that the resistance will be great and that consultants from Germany would immediately start to contest this plan," said Seifert. As a member of the so-called FIFA Professional Football Stakeholders Committee, he had already been contacted and threatened with a personal lawsuit if he voted in favor of limiting advisory fees in this body - “signed by very prominent player advisors, by the way”.

Falls 50 + 1 because of Corona? BVB boss paints a dark scenario on the wall

Update from 01.01 p.m .: Hans-Joachim Watzke sees great dangers for professional football in Germany if the season has to be stopped due to the Corona crisis . In this case "it will be the hour of the 50 + 1 critics, who will then try everything to organize German football according to the Anglo-Saxon model. You can smell this development," the BVB managing director told the FAZ .

For years, people at Borussia Dortmund would have called "who want to pay hundreds of millions of euros if we only abolish the 50 + 1 rule - so that they can then take over the majority". For Borussia "that is completely out of the question. But the more clubs come under existential pressure, the sooner that will happen," said Watzke.

No football in Dortmund: BVB boss Watzke fears bad things.

© dpa / Bernd Thissen

At the moment it is all about securing livelihoods, not maximizing profits . Watzke: "Many clubs in the Bundesliga will no longer talk about profits in the next few years." The crisis will also be about "maintaining the character of our sport, which despite all criticism in Germany is still much closer to the people than in the other major leagues in Europe", emphasized the head of Borussia Dortmund.

Should professional football not set an example for society in times of the coronavirus pandemic and donate the earnings of the first match day to institutions that look after children, because they are particularly hard hit by the crisis, Watzke did not want to comment conclusively. "We can only talk about this once we have weathered the crisis. Professional clubs will write horrific losses in the coming years, 16 out of 18 clubs are already on short-time work. There is nothing left to distribute," he said.

Even at BVB, the crisis is "really going to the substance". "But if at some point we can play with viewers again and achieve stability, I'm not only absolutely open to such suggestions," said Watzke, "then there will have to be more in this direction." However, the move by the BVB managing director  is met with violent headwinds on the Internet . Many people believe that the need to save the professional business, which has gotten out of hand, could put people back on the right track. Here is one of numerous Twitter reactions to the polarizing topic:

Just a hope, but if the #Bundesliga should sink, as predicted by #Watzke, honest football could emerge again, without insane salaries, insane transfers, armies of money-loving advisors, child trafficking, golden steak-eating players, etc. pic.twitter.com / 6CxBqHVzPP

Bundesliga despite Corona? Virologist warns - and gives an alarming example

Update from April 27: Virologist Professor Uwe G. Liebert from Leipzig is critical of the planned resumption of play in the Bundesliga. "For one thing, we do not yet know anything about the long-term consequences of an illness with Covid-19, " said the head of the Institute of Virology at Leipzig University to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung . He referred to a 31-year-old deceased who was not in any risk group and had no previous illnesses. "It is possible to get serious or die from the virus at a young age," said Liebert.

He thinks the DFL concept with ghost games is questionable: "An infection can only be detected after a minimum of 48 hours," he explained. He also believes that the planned measures for targeted quarantine, if a player has been infected, are not enforceable. "From my point of view, all people in contact with a footballer are first-degree contacts", because they have more than 15 minutes of close contact in accordance with the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute. "So everyone would have to be in quarantine, possibly including the opposing team."

The virologist therefore advocates putting the return plans on hold and waiting to see how the infection dynamics develop after the contact block measures are relaxed. "Before that, I strongly advise against going on any offensive," said Liebert. Third division club Waldhof Mannheim calls for an early termination of the season - among other things because of a corona death in the club environment.

Cup final before spectators? DFB president with ambiguous statements

Update from April 25, 11:28 am:  How is football going in Germany? There have been some conferences and discussions in the past few days. Now everything is waiting eagerly for April 30th - then the Federal Government meets and discusses how to proceed. 

In France, meanwhile, a soccer professional was so seriously ill that he had to be put in an artificial corona coma.

Update, 2:05 p.m .: The DFB has announced another decision - namely that there is still no decision on the 3rd division . This leaves it open whether, when and if so, how the season can be continued in the third-highest German division.

The German Football Association plans to convene an Extraordinary Bundestag. The association announced after a presidium meeting this Friday.

At its meeting today, the #DFB Presidium spoke out in favor of calling an Extraordinary DFB Bundestag.

Further information: https://t.co/WQIGbpxxJa pic.twitter.com/yOtRQ4WtvC

It can only be decided on an extraordinary Bundestag, it was said. By the way, it is not yet certain when this Bundestag - presumably virtually - will take place.

Corona in soccer Germany: DFB Cup final is postponed

Update, 1:15 p.m .:  Due to the Corona crisis * , the DFB Cup final originally planned for May 23 has now been postponed until further notice - as expected.

The semi-final matches originally scheduled for April 21st and 22nd had already been postponed until the end of March. Due to the uncertain course of the coronavirus pandemic * and the associated exit restrictions, there are still no alternative appointments .

DFB President: Fritz Keller from South Baden.

© dpa / Arne Dedert

"Especially the German Cup final as glamorous highlight and closing of each season lives from the unique atmosphere in the stadium and the atmosphere in Berlin, and both are significantly influenced by the local fans," said DFB president Fritz Keller  is "respect, it is extremely unfortunate that this particular game is also likely to take place without a spectator in the stadium, although of course we first have to wait for the general official decisions and requirements. "

3rd league / Corona: Regional leagues actively promote two-pronged third leagues

Update from April 24, 1 p.m .:  In view of the uncertain future of the 3rd league , some regional league clubs now seem to sense their chance of a full return to German professional football - thanks to a double-track model below the 2nd Bundesliga .

Specifically: The former Bundesliga soccer club Rot-Weiss Essen is advocating with some other clubs for the introduction of a double-track third league - and can now even get legal advice. "We will get legal support for everything that happens from now on," said Managing Director Marcus Uhlig of the German Press Agency .

Tomorrow there will be a virtual evening on the Hafenstrasse on the Rot-Weiss Essen Facebook page from 6 p.m., the @Nullsiebenblog will tickle the virtual game against Bergisch Gladbach from 7.30 p.m. To do this, RWE doubles all Corona hero tickets ordered on Friday between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. pic.twitter.com/CAPIlvG9gH

Essen is currently third in the table and would play for the relegation relegation if the SV Rödinghausen waived if the season continued with the SC Verl. "It cannot be that the association Verl is crowned champion and we get nothing at all," said Uhlig: "We have a sporting and financially promising position. For us, it's about up to 2.5 million. Solutions on the association side have to be found for some kind of compensation. "

The southern regional league SV Elversberg has already designed a concept for a possible double-track 3rd league  , which is available from dpa . The current situation is "perhaps a unique opportunity to simultaneously remove the existing structural problems of the current division structures," it says. Not all regional league champions are currently promoted.

"A two-pronged 3rd division would be financially viable," said Uhlig: "There are more derby, higher revenue potential among spectators and less travel expenses. You can't say with a single stroke that we won't do it. ”The DFB had already said last week that a two-pronged third division was“ still not an issue ”.

How is the third division going in Corona times? Video switch at the DFB

First announcement from April 24:  On Thursday, April 23, DFL Managing Director Christian Seifert presented the concept for the resumption of play in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga *. On Friday, April 24th, it will now be discussed how to proceed in the 3rd league and in the DFB Cup *. The DFB Presidium discusses this in a video slot.

The semi-finals between FC Bayern Munich * and Eintracht Frankfurt as well as 1. FC Saarbrücken and Bayer Leverkusen are still outstanding in the cup, as well as the final scheduled for May 23 in Berlin. In the third division there are still eleven match days until the end of the season.

Continuation in the DFB Cup: DFB Presidium advises in Frankfurt / Main

Eight clubs publicly advocated a demolition in the Corona * crisis. At the earliest next week there should be a secret vote among the clubs, but this would only serve to form an opinion.

It is completely open whether this season can be played again. According to the DFB, the clubs would lose around 30 million euros if they were abandoned. The association would like to continue playing.

Restart in the 3rd league: clubs face loss of 30 million euros if canceled

However, it is questionable whether the risk of infection could be reduced as with the top two professional leagues. DFL boss Seifert had drawn up a corona measure catalog with hygiene guidelines for the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The first plans for a season restart had already been leaked.

The FSV Zwickau came up with something special to get money into the tight cash register. The third division club creates a virtual train journey through the history of the club. Fans can secure a train ticket worth 1.75 euros. For every "ticket" sold, 10 cents go to cultural institutions in Zwickau.

mt / pm with material from dpa

* tz.de and merkur.de are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / Bernd von Jutrczenka