Corona virus: Are two Munich clubs crowned champions prematurely?

The managing directors of BBL and HBL strongly warn of the impending economic consequences of the corona crisis for their sports.

• The spread of the corona virus * could have "massive effects" on professional sports in Germany
• HBL and BBL fear that there will be considerable economic consequences
• The DEL even threatens to cancel the playoffs

Munich - The managing directors of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) strongly warn of the impending economic consequences of the Corona crisis for their sports.

“It's not just about three or four home games. It's about existential questions. The clubs are very tense for a reason, ”HBL boss Frank Bohmann told SID. BBL boss Stefan Holz said in the SID conversation: “It's about the things that are done. If the matchday proceeds break away, it won't work. "

Wood wants to "raise awareness that professional sport will have a massive impact ". In contrast to the Bundesliga , ghost games are not a real option. Supposedly, the football matches could now be broadcast free of charge on Sky and DAZN. The game in the round of 16 of the Champions League between RB Leipzig and Tottenham Hotspur (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker) will take place as planned and with fans.

Bohmann emphasized with a view to the political limit of 1,000 spectators : “Our professional league would have liked to have been more closely involved in the decision-making process. The 1000 mark seems completely arbitrary to us. "

HBL is now talking about “also being able to save clubs in the summer, that is a priority”. At an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, "you will go through different scenarios and then decide how we will react," said Bohmann. In addition to games in compliance with official requirements, there are extensive cancellations in the room.

Coronavirus: BBL and HBL warn of "massive effects"

Frank Bohmann

© dpa / Daniel Reinhardt

Handball champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Bundesliga leaders THW Kiel have to play their next home games in front of empty ranks. The reason is a decision by Schleswig-Holstein's state government on Tuesday to ban events involving more than 1,000 people until April 10 due to the coronavirus.

At Kiel, the home games against Bergische HC on March 22nd and SC Magdeburg on March 26th will affect two games in which the team of coach Filip Jicha is concerned with important points in the fight for the national title.

Bother me massively. Other countries: We pause / organize ghost games from x to y. Germany: Joa, NRW participates, Bavaria participates, but with us in Berlin there is no risk! The very fact that people from Bavaria are arriving is already torpedoing this logic. https://t.co/fOcAZPlN8h

For the Flensburg players, the round of 16 first leg in the Champions League against French representative Montpellier HB on March 18, the chasing duel in the league against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf on March 22 and the game against TBV Lemgo Lippe are on the home schedule.

In this case, one has to “also take care of solutions that are offered by the state. The state has to fulfill its responsibility, ”said Bohmann:“ Unlike in professional football , our clubs earn their money primarily from sponsorship and ticketing . ”The proceeds from tickets make up around a quarter of the Bundesliga clubs' budget.

Coronavirus: DEL playoffs could be canceled

The BBL is already meeting for a crisis meeting on Thursday. "We have not yet made a decision. There will be no 100 percent solution, ”said Holz:“ Every solution is somehow bad, we have to weigh it up. ”

The next league game is scheduled for Friday with the game of Central German BC against the Giessen 46ers. The first handball Bundesliga has no games at the weekend due to an international match.

The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) is about to decide on how to proceed as a result of the corona virus. There is still no "final" decision, a spokesman for the league said on Tuesday: "We assess the situation today together with the clubs."

As a possible scenario, it cannot be ruled out that the season for the German ice hockey championship will be terminated prematurely and that main round winner EHC Red Bull Munich will be declared champion.

DEL champions without playoffs? Red Bull Munich waves title

"If we are not allowed to play, we are not allowed to play," said managing director Gernot Tripcke in the ice hockey news (Tuesday): "We will choose a master." The DEL would "comply with all the instructions of the authorities".

The first round of playoffs should begin on Wednesday in which the two remaining quarter-finalists will be determined. The ERC Ingolstadt meets the Augsburg Panthers . In the second duel in the best-of-three series, the Nürnberg Ice Tigers play against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg .

"It cannot be ruled out that the season will end prematurely on Tuesday afternoon and that Munich will then be the first round German new champion," said Nuremberg managing director Wolfgang Gastner of the Bild newspaper.

dpa / sid / smk

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Lino Mirgeler