After the death around Waldhof Mannheim, there were voices demanding that the season be stopped. Now it looks like a restart.
- Waldhof Mannheim is campaigning for an early season end in league three .
- After a corona death in the club environment, the second in the table reinforces the demand.
- Some rivals are voicing criticism before a video conference is taking place today .
Update of April 27, 8:03 p.m .: The clubs in the 3rd league have apparently agreed to continue the season interrupted by the corona pandemic. According to dpa information, ten clubs voted in favor and eight against, during a video conference, and two clubs abstained. Previously, voices of an immediate termination of the season had also been heard ( see first report ).
How are the other European leagues dealing with the resumption of play? An overview from England to Switzerland.
Third division: fuss over corona death - premature end of season?
First report from April 27: Mannheim / Halle - How and whether the third division season , which was interrupted because of Corona , is still unclear. A demand by the second in the table, SV Waldhof Mannheim, causes a stir among some of the competitors: the reason given by the promoted team for an immediate end to the season has been criticized by third-tier rivals . The Mannheimer had previously spoken out against a continuation of the season interrupted by the corona pandemic due to a death in the immediate vicinity of a SVW player .
The reactions from the competition camp were not long in coming: “Such a process also has an ethical component. For me personally, I can say that I would not have chosen this way, ”said Chemnitz President Romy Polster in the picture . Many clubs are plagued by financial hardships * due to the abrupt break in the game and the uncertain future.
Third division with corona break: clubs with different ambitions
Hansa Rostock's CEO Robert Marien also commented on the case in Mannheim: “Our sincere condolences to the family. But the way of launching something like this and the announcement that it will be published can be disputed. ”The Mannheimers are surprisingly well off in league three and could move up to the second Bundesliga if they dropped out prematurely . The club has been campaigning for a definitive stop of the 2019/2020 season, some other third division clubs are committed to Waldhof Mannheim:
The SVW and other clubs of the @ 3_liga are pleading to "stop 3rd division play in the current season"
➡️ https://t.co/cz6meTWbVy#WirsindWaldhof # svw07
As the Rheinpfalz reported on Saturday, the father of a Waldhof professional recently died of the lung disease Covid-19 . In the article, the newspaper refers to an email from Waldhof managing director Markus Kompp, in which he informed the DFB and other third division clubs about the death . "After consulting the player, I can confirm that this email exists," Kompp told the newspaper.
Third division: video conference today - eleven match days are still outstanding
Because it cannot be ruled out that ghost games * can lead to further infections and possibly death, the club management of Waldhof Mannheim is in favor of stopping the season . Eleven match days are still outstanding.
Meanwhile, Bernd Wiegand, Mayor of Halle / Saale, does not want to give the local third division club Hallescher FC permission to play ghost games . Even games without viewers are "not responsible for the given rules on distance and security," said the independent politician of the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung . "There will be no " special position of football "with regard to the easing measures," added Wiegand, who had recently seen the conditions with his staff in the Halle Stadium. Halle is one of the clubs in the 3rd league that are against a sequel to ghost games.
There could soon be a tendency as to how things will go in Germany's third-highest division *: a video conference of all 20 clubs on how to proceed is scheduled for Monday .
Meanwhile, the DFB president is listening: is a cup final with spectators really an issue?
PF with dpa
* tz.de is an offer from the nationwide Ippen Digital editors network
