The German Championship will be resumed from mid-May. This was announced during a press conference on May 6 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She stated that the country had overcome the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic and could weaken some quarantine measures.
The German Championship will be the first major football tournament to continue after a break due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Matches should take place on May 15, as representatives of the German Football League (DFL) told the newspaper Bild. Games will be held without spectators, with strict observance by players and club staff of precautions.
DFL Executive Director Christian Seifert thanked the country's leadership. He said that the resumption of the season in the German championship will save some clubs from bankruptcy.
“Today’s decision is good news for the first and second Bundesliga. It is associated with the great responsibility of clubs and their staff with regard to the disciplined execution of medical and organizational requirements. Matches in stadiums without spectators are not an ideal and not a universal solution. However, during a crisis that threatens the very existence of some clubs, this is the only way to keep the leagues in their current form. Today I would like to thank those who made decisions at the federal and state levels for the trust placed in us, ”Seifert said.
The German football championship was interrupted on March 16 after the 25th round. Most teams have nine matches left, and Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt have one more. At present, Bavaria is leading the Bundesliga, four points ahead of Dortmund Borussia and five points ahead of Leipzig. In the zone of European cups there are also the Mönchengladbach Borussia, Bayer and Schalke, and the flight to the second Bundesliga threatens Werder and Paderborn.
In Germany, they did not repeat the decisions of France, the Netherlands and Belgium, where they refused to resume football tournaments and declared them completed. The chairman of the Bavarian board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was pleased that the Bundesliga will be able to complete the season and determine the champion on the football fields.
“I would like to thank our politicians for making it possible to end the current Bundesliga season with today's decision. We are looking forward to the resumption of games, ideally from mid-May. Thus, sports results will be summed up on the field, and not at the green table. I would like to express special thanks to the DFL and the medical working group for the excellent organizational and medical concept. I appeal to all participants in a disciplined and exemplary manner to comply with the requirements of this concept, which allowed us to resume the championship, ”the Bavarian press service quotes Rummenigge.
Before the resumption of the season, the Bundesliga clubs conducted a large-scale coronavirus test among players and staff. According to its results, ten out of 1724 tests gave a positive result. Three cases have recently been recorded in Cologne, but this not only did not prevent the team from continuing group training, but also did not affect the final decision of the country's leadership to give football a green light.
DFL will require players not only to continue to undergo testing, but also to follow strict instructions to prevent the spread of coronavirus. For their non-compliance, the Hertha player Salomon Kalu has already managed to pay. A few days before the official announcement of the Bundesliga restart, he had a live broadcast on social networks from the club’s locker room and showed how he continued to say hello to partners and did not keep his distance. The Berlin team suspended their striker from training, and Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to make an appeal to other players to act more responsibly.
“It is necessary to consciously relate to our football family and football matches, because the decision to resume the season will most likely have consequences for the whole football, including for amateur clubs, the younger generation of players, as well as for many other sports. All European countries, the whole world will look at us. We must be aware of the enormous responsibility that lies with us. What is happening now is extremely important for us. We are a role model of behavior for society. We would just like to play football, but now it’s not enough, ”Noyer quoted Goal.com before Merkel’s press conference.