The games without fans will be a special challenge for the referees. They too must adhere to the DFL concept with hygiene and safety measures. A positive test can upset the schedule.
Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - And the referees? For weeks, professional football has been working towards a restart in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga with ghost games. Now the German Football Association has published its concept for the top referees.
Accordingly, they should undergo two series of tests before the restart. According to a "kicker" report, no referee has yet been tested for the corona virus. The Cologne basement, where the video assistants sit, is being renovated.
"Of course, there will also be hygienic and medical requirements for referees, linesmen and fourth officials," said DFL boss Christian Seifert after the general meeting of the German Football League.
"It is also a very unusual situation for the referees, which can only be dealt with if everyone is disciplined with the requirements and acts in an exemplary manner. This will also require a lot of flexibility and patience when it comes to the arrangements," said the DFB referee Chief Lutz Michael Fröhlich.
The referees and their assistants can take the second test the day before their first game in the 1st or 2nd division. As the season progresses, the game leaders will be tested the day before a game. "In the event of a positive test result, the referee will immediately isolate himself in accordance with the applicable official requirements," said the DFB after a switching conference with its elite referees. The schedule will not be announced until the match day.
For the time being, the DFB is overriding its rule that referees may not whistle games in their national associations - so that they are spared long journeys. However, they are still not allowed to direct games in their place of residence.
Seifert also announced structural changes in the Cologne video cellar, "which will enable us to implement the safety precautions that must be taken to ensure occupational health and safety and to keep the risk of infection as low as possible". In line with the staffing in the stadium, the number of people in the Cologne Video Assist Center (VAC) should be reduced to a minimum, the DFB announced. The workplaces are separated from one another by plexiglass panes.
The games without spectators will be a very special challenge for the referees from May 16. Deniz Aytekin, the "Referee of the Year", whistled the first Bundesliga match in Mönchengladbach (2-1 against 1. FC Köln) in mid-March. The 41-year-old was only able to get a little out of it. The fans in Borussia Park were missing, "and massive," he said at the time. "I can only hope that this won't prevail in the long term. It was very, very difficult to concentrate consistently."
The 26 first division referees and 22 second division referees are in a completely different situation than the footballers in the corona crisis. Due to the cancellation of the games, they had massive loss of earnings. Most of the impartial have only slightly different jobs.
For a game in the Bundesliga, a referee receives an allowance of 5,000 euros. If he also whistles games in the European Cup, he also lacked these earnings recently. "In the professional field, it is already the case that a large part of the income is lost," said DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann, who is responsible for referees. So far, nothing is known about compensation of the missing income on the part of the DFB.
However, the referees also receive a fixed sum in the five-digit range per season that has already been paid to them. For a German FIFA referee like Felix Brych, for example, who also whistles internationally, this fixed amount is around 80,000 euros.
Available in the dpa shop: Interactive graphics on the status quo of the Bundesliga and international competitions and sporting events
Bundesliga referee on dfb.de.
DFL concept
DFB announcement