“
We must assume that the Bundesliga will continue without spectators.
It's a fair decision
“, Released Tuesday Michael Kretschmer, the president of the executive of the Land of Saxony, who already imposed last Sunday the closed door to RB Leipzig, beaten at home 3-1 by Leverkusen in a completely empty Red Bull Arena.
The Land of Baden-Württemberg (Freiburg and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga) has also come out in favor of closing the stadiums to fans.
The leaders of the regional states and the German federal government, who failed to agree on the point at a meeting on Tuesday, are expected to finally render their decision on Thursday.
And if some obviously still want to try to save what can be saved, by limiting and controlling entry into the stadiums, the most radical have already spoken.
To discover
Bundesliga fixtures and results
Bundesliga standings
Exemplary function
“
Football has an important role of exemplary
”, recalled the popular head of the Bavarian regional government Markus Söder: “
There are different approaches (...) but if we do not take the decision (to ban spectators) in Federal level, Bavaria will do it alone,
”he warned Tuesday, announcing de facto the return of closed doors to Bayern Munich, without however setting a date. "
If we close the Christmas markets, it is not consistent to send 15,000 or 18,000 people to football,
" pleaded Mr. Söder. In Germany, each region is autonomous to decide on anti-Covid measures, and some clubs can play in a full or partially full stadium while others play behind closed doors.
After a disaster 2020-2021 season, with almost all the matches behind closed doors, the public had gradually been allowed to return last August, even if some speakers were still very far from being able to refuel: Bayern Munich and Dortmund , the two leaders, played respectively in front of 34,000 and 43,000 spectators on average, or about half of their capacity. On Saturday, Bayern was already under much stricter restrictions and only played against Bielefeld (1-0) in front of 12,000 supporters. If these measures target all popular mass demonstrations, it is obviously football, which draws huge crowds every week, which is in the sights. "
We must clearly limit large leisure gatherings
"Said on Tuesday morning Helge Braun, chief of staff to outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel,"
given the dramatic situation in the country, he is no longer responsible for attending Bundesliga matches like last weekend with tens of thousands of spectators
”.
A Klassiker behind closed doors?
"
Everyone agrees that something must be done in football,
" added the Bavarian Markus Söder, pointing to the always very passionate "
Rhine derby
" Cologne-Mönchengladbach (4-1), which took place on Saturday in front of 50,000 spectators. This meeting has particularly aroused disapproval in the political class, while the pandemic is experiencing a new outbreak in Germany, with an incidence Tuesday of 452.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. “
Allowing matches to play in full stadiums last weekend was a mistake. It's clear, it should have been prevented
“, Criticized the leader of the Greens Robert Habeck, appointed as vice-chancellor of the government which will succeed Angela Merkel in December.
Saturday, December 4, Dortmund, second in the championship, receives Bayern, leader, in a "
Klassiker
" which makes Germany salivate from football.
No official decision has yet been announced, but it's a safe bet that the dreaded Signal Iduna Park will ring hollow at 6:30 p.m. ... if it isn't downright empty.
