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Hans-Joachim Watzke in the "Current Sports Studio"
Photo: Martin Hoffmann Berliner Str. 31 / imago images / Martin Hoffmann
Borussia Dortmund's managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke criticizes what he believes is "populist football bashing", which recently came "partly from the federal government".
"I didn't find it expedient," said the 61-year-old on Saturday in the ZDF "sports studio", referring to an alleged statement by Chancellor Angela Merkel about the importance of football, which he no longer remembered.
In the previous week, Merkel had said in view of the rising Corona numbers and the necessary measures: "You can consider whether you will let fewer people in or none at all during football games."
Without games "it will be very tight"
Watzke said it was "not about what is important. There are always 1000 things that are more important than the Bundesliga. But we don't have to ask the question of importance, but rather of the potential risk."
He does not see this "at the moment" in the Bundesliga, "because the people are super disciplined".
Due to the increasing corona numbers, only a few hundred spectators are currently allowed in most Bundesliga stadiums.
Since, according to Watzke, the league is working with a "globally recognized top concept" in the implementation of the game, football "poses no danger at all," the BVB boss claimed.
If football should in future not only have to do without spectators, but rather the entire event, Watzke sees big problems for the clubs: "If we don't have them either, it will be very tight."
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mfu / dpa
