The Bundesliga soccer season will resume on May 16 picking up where it left off two months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic, the German Football League (DFL) has confirmed.
Government allows #Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 seasons to resume from mid-May – statement by #DFL CEO Christian Seifert ➡️ https://t.co/gySVwf9osf pic.twitter.com/Z6itZJAS2T
— DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga (@DFL_Official) May 6, 2020
The DFL said the season would restart under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from stadiums, resuming on matchday 26 and including the Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on the opening Saturday.
The 36 clubs gathered via conference on Thursday to formalise the fixture schedule which will play through to a final round of matches on the weekend of June 27 and 28.
It will become the first European league to resume amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Meanwhile, one club is giving spectators a chance to virtually participate matches when the league recommences.
Borussia Mönchengladbach is selling fan cutouts to be placed in Borussia Park, beginning with the club’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt next Saturday.
The cutouts have already proved a hot-ticket item. Over 4500 cutouts have been purchased as of Thursday, and another 12000 have been ordered.
We’ve got ourselves a few away fans at BORUSSIA-PARK 🧐#DieFohlen pic.twitter.com/BHCxyUuKdN
— Gladbach (@borussia_en) May 6, 2020
A portion of the team’s proceeds will go to a fundraising campaign for spinal muscular atrophy treatment, while the rest will go to support club workers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Thursday’s announcement of a return to competitive action comes a day after clubs were told the season could restart following a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors.
“Everyone has to be clear. We’re playing on probation,” German soccer league managing director Christian Seifert said.
“I expect everyone to live up to this responsibility. Our concept is designed to catch infections early.”
Seifert said the return of soccer was because of the success the country’s leaders and health officials have had in response to the outbreak.
Germany has had a high number of COVID-19 infections – nearly 170,000 by Thursday (local time), according to Johns Hopkins University – with about 7,000 deaths, a lower number compared to elsewhere.
The country’s relative success in combating the virus has been attributed to early testing, a robust health service and strict lockdown measures that are now being loosened.
“That we’re allowed to play again boils down to German politics for managing this crisis, and the health system in Germany,” Seifert said.
In response to the news, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “I am confident that Germany will provide a shining example to all of us in how to bring football – with all its excitement, emotion and unpredictability – back into our lives.”
It was initially planned that teams would spend two weeks in quarantine before games could resume, but a compromise on shorter training camps in isolation for each team was reached because players have been undergoing regular tests.
Bayern Munich, chasing an eighth successive Bundesliga title, currently lead the table with 55 points from 25 games, four ahead of Dortmund with RB Leipzig third on 50. There are nine rounds of matches left to play this season.
Seifert said a decision on whether to temporarily allow five substitutions per match depends on FIFA rules.
FIFA made the proposal to help players cope with game congestion but it is still subject to approval from the International Football Association Board, soccer’s law-making body.
-with agencies
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