Risk area Bavaria tribune

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Without a gap, without a mask: even the CSU doesn't like that

Photo: Matthias Balk / dpa

They actually know their way around FC Bayern very well.

Especially with the distance to the competition, which seems to have grown bigger than ever after the 8-0 opening win against Schalke 04.

In terms of sport, everything is as untroubled as you can imagine.

But Bayern also reliably manage to generate their exciting topics.

The fact that the Bayern leadership squatted so close to one another in the otherwise deserted Munich stadium on Friday evening, as if there was otherwise no more space in the wide area, even called politicians to the scene.

Bavaria's Minister of Health Melanie Huml issued a reprimand to the Bavarian grandees.

The picture from Fröttmaning surprised the ministry "with a view to the role model function".

A reprimand from the government - that should mean something if you know the otherwise so close internal relationship between the CSU and the Bavarian flagship club.

A closeness that was once again documented on Friday: Among the people reprimanded, ignoring the distance rules and sitting together without a protective mask, was the former party chairman and Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber.

He is a permanent guest on the Bayern grandstand.

But Stoiber's successor, Markus Söder, now has national political ambitions and acts as radical in the Corona period, so the friendship with FC Bayern has to take a back seat.

Damage to image already done

Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has meanwhile registered that the appearance on Friday evening, which incidentally not only affected the management team of Bayern, but also that of the guest from Gelsenkirchen, was not well received by the public.

On Sunday he promised improvement for the next home games and spoke of a misunderstanding.

The damage to the company's image was already done.

Especially since the Bavarians have another construction site around the corner when it comes to Corona.

On Thursday, the Champions League winner will play the European Supercup against the Europa League winner FC Sevilla.

Uefa has chosen Budapest as the venue and has announced the prospect of admitting spectators there.

Budapest is now classified as a risk area by the federal government.

However, Uefa points out that for players, delegations and fans who are in Hungary for less than 72 hours, quarantine after their return trip is not mandatory - as is otherwise required when returning from risk areas.

20,000 visitors should be allowed to sit in the Ferenc-Puskás-Stadion, including 2100 Bayern fans.

In Hungary the number of infections is skyrocketing, the borders have actually been closed for Germans who want to enter the country since September 1.

The fact that the game should still take place with a stadium full to a third has caused Bayern heads to shake: "It's one thing that you don't quite understand," says coach Hans-Dieter Flick.

"We have no interest in people returning to Munich infected with corona and not being recognized here," says Rummenigge.

He therefore announced that traveling Bayern fans could be tested for free before and after the trip to Budapest.

Appropriate test capacities for fans would be created in the arena on Monday and Tuesday.

DFL boss Seifert was sitting right next door

To express concern for the health of the delegation and fans, the image of a board of directors ignoring distance rules in the league is of little help.

Rummenigge has understood this in the meantime: "We all agree that the picture was not necessarily exemplary."

Whereby one may wonder why that could not have been clear to Bayern after all the debates this year about the continuation of the game in pandemic times.

A day before the game, the city of Munich had banned spectators from visiting the stadium in view of the significantly increased number of infections in the city.

So the Bavarians were sensitized enough.

The German Football League (DFL) has meanwhile announced that it is "in talks with Bayern" because of this.

However, DFL boss Christian Seifert could have managed it during the game.

On Friday he was only sitting two rows above the Bayern board of directors.

However, he kept the appropriate distance from Rummenigge, Kahn, Hoeneß and Co.

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