Bundesliga season to restart on 16 May, German league announces

The Bundesliga season will restart on Saturday 16 May, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday, making it the first major European league to resume amid the coronavirus epidemic.

The DFL said the campaign would resume under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from attending games, with several matches including the derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke taking place on the relaunch day.

The Bundesliga and the country’s second division got the go-ahead on Wednesday from Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, to restart in the second half of May. The date was announced after a meeting via video link involving the clubs, and was the earliest permissible start.

The DFL is desperate to finish the season by 30 June to be contractually in compliance with sponsors and broadcasters. It had warned any further delay could be “existence-threatening” for some clubs.

“The season finale will take place at the end of June,” the league’s CEO, Christian Seifert, said, with 27-28 June a likely date.

Bayern Munich’s chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, had said he was keen to get started as soon as possible. His side are four points clear of Dortmund at the top of the table with nine matches to play.

“We are now looking forward to resuming play … this ensures that the sporting decisions are made on the pitch and not in the boardroom,” Rummenigge said. “I would like to expressly thank the DFL and the medicine task force for the excellent organisational and medical plans. I appeal to everyone involved to follow the guidelines in these plans, which are the basis for resuming play, in an exemplary and disciplined manner.”

Bayern Munich’s David Alaba (centre) and teammates at a training session on Wednesday



Bayern Munich’s David Alaba (centre) and teammates at a training session on Wednesday. Photograph: Lukas Barth-Tuttas/EPA

Clubs in Germany have been training for a month amid Covid-19 testing. Players will continue to be tested and teams will have to spend time in quarantine before games can restart.

The push to resume has not been universally welcomed, with Werder Bremen understood to have been among those clubs in opposition given doubts whether they will be allowed to play matches at their Weserstadion after the local government insisted it would not let them until the pandemic is over.

The DFL said on Monday that there had been 10 positive tests for coronavirus among the top two tiers, adding that 1,724 tests were carried out over two rounds among players and staff. Last Friday Cologne reported three positive cases.

This week Salomon Kalou has been suspended “with immediate effect” by his club Hertha Berlin after posting a video on Facebook of him breaking physical distancing rules with his teammates.

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“Many industries are now slowly starting up again in compliance with strict rules, and this applies to professional football too,” said Dortmund’s chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke.

“In this context, we at Borussia Dortmund are aware we have a great responsibility. We will – in the knowledge there can be no guarantees – do everything in our power to ensure the highest possible degree of safety in order to prevent any new infections among the players and their families.”

Domestic matches in both Croatia and Serbia are set to resume on 30 May behind closed doors, subject to government approval.

source: theguardian.com