Bayern Munich, holders of the German soccer league (Bundesliga), will be forced to play their inaugural match in the tournament on Friday in front of Schalke 04 without an audience due to the high number of coronavirus cases in the city of Bavaria.

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, who initially gave the go-ahead to 7,500 fans for the match, said Thursday that allowing fans to change the infection rate would be a "wrong sign".

The decision came after a meeting of the Bavarian state government and health authorities, after the German government's disease control authority and the Robert Koch Institute confirmed a sharp increase in cases compared to the previous day.

"For me, this level is high, and now also confirmed by the Robert Koch Institute, it means we at least have to think about tighter restrictions in public life. Hence, I cannot allow thousands of fans to enter stadiums simultaneously," Reiter said.

He added, "I know it is sad for the fans and clubs, but the crisis is not over yet, everyone should know this."

And politicians agreed earlier this week to allow 20% of the stadium capacity to attend in an experimental phase that will last for 6 weeks.

The Bavarian team had hoped to attend 15,000 fans in its 75,000-seat stadium, but due to the Corona virus numbers, yesterday, Wednesday, they were allowed to attend 7,500 fans before the final decision not to attend any fans.

Bayern Munich is the first club to play their home game without fans.

However, this may affect other clubs as the health authorities have the final decision regarding matches.

At the same time, Bayern's neighbor Augsburg expects the attendance of 6000 fans in their first match against Borussia Dortmund - last season's runners-up - scheduled for the 26th of this month.

"Like anywhere else, the final decision is in the hands of the local health authorities," Michael Struel, managing director of Augsburg, told a local daily Thursday.

The newly promoted Stuttgart club said on Thursday that it aims to attend 8,000 fans for its opening match on Saturday in front of Freiburg, and is awaiting approval from Stuttgart officials.