No spectators until at least the end of October and stricter corona rules for those returning from risk areas: There was no good news for the Bundesliga and top German sport from the political summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Minister in Berlin.
Because of the tense pandemic situation in Germany, the Bundesliga season start will definitely take place in mid-September without a large audience.
"Corona is back in full force in Germany, so we have to face this situation," said Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder after the more than five-hour meeting. It "doesn't make sense to start with spectators in September. It would be the wrong signal with an increasing number of infections."
Merkel and the state leaders therefore agreed at the video conference that a working group at the level of the state chancellery should develop a proposal for dealing with fans at nationwide sporting events over the next two months. CSU boss Söder at least held out the prospect that the working group could agree on "small, step-by-step options", "before Christmas".
Major events at which contact tracking and compliance with hygiene regulations is not possible should not take place at least until the end of December 2020.
In addition to soccer, handball, basketball and other sports are also affected
In addition to the soccer clubs from the Bundesliga to the regional league, the restrictions also apply to the top clubs in handball, basketball and ice hockey as well as other sports that are heavily dependent on audience income. The Bundesliga season in handball is to start on October 1st, the basketball players and the clubs in the German Ice Hockey League want to start the 2020/21 season in November - each with spectators.
The extent to which at least a few hundred fans will be admitted before October 31 was initially open. The restrictions for participants in such events currently differ greatly in the federal states.
But professional football is threatened with another problem of possibly even greater scope. From October 1st, travelers returning from risk areas should be able to end a corona quarantine at the earliest with a test from the fifth day after entering Germany. This could have massive effects on the game operations in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, because the clubs provide numerous domestic and foreign national players for international matches.
No regional exceptions for the time being
As things stand, the DFB selection, which will play in Ukraine on October 10, would also be affected. Ukraine is one of a large number of countries that the Robert Koch Institute has currently classified as a risk area. In the further course of the season, games in the Champions League and Europa League could take place in risk areas, which would then have an impact on the Bundesliga clubs.
When it comes to fans, there are initially no exception rules, even in regions with very low numbers of infections, as was still considered in the resolution proposal. This would have resulted in a patchwork quilt. While clubs from regions with high numbers of infections would have had to continue to play in front of empty ranks, clubs from areas with only a few corona diseases might have been able to play in front of a larger audience.
The industry's hopes for a piece of normality are initially not fulfilled, although there is certainly prominent support for plans to return fans. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer spoke out in favor of at least a limited number of spectators being allowed back into the Bundesliga stadiums. "The population does not understand when many people are allowed to be on the move in a confined space in local transport, but a football game with few spectators and long distances should not be possible," said the CSU politician of the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
Icon: The mirrorara / dpa
