According to the German Football League (DFL), the vaccination rate in the first and second Bundesliga is significantly higher than that in society as a whole.
"Of the more than 90 percent of all players, coaches and supervisors who have been vaccinated, more than 70 percent have already received a booster vaccination," said Ansgar Schwenken, DFL Director Football Affairs and Fans, in an interview on bundesliga.de .
“The basis for this number is voluntary information from the clubs as part of a corresponding query by the DFL.
"
For individuals, it should be taken into account that the second vaccination took place late or that a positive corona result was found after the second vaccination, which is why a booster vaccination is currently not being used. The goal of the DFL and the clubs is still to run the game in the targeted time frame, so Schwenken. This is done on the basis of the medical-hygienic occupational safety concept, the individual measures of the clubs and the existing statutes of the DFL. "We are closely monitoring and analyzing which challenges the Omikron variant will bring with it."
National team doctor Tim Meyer, who is also head of the Sports Medicine / Special Game Operations Task Force, emphasized in the interview with Schwenken and him: "According to what we currently know, the high vaccination rate in professional football provides good protection against infection and, even better, against severe courses. “Nevertheless, of course, the regulations are checked regularly. For example, the definition of who has the vaccinated status and therefore does not have to be tested closely. The clubs had already been announced in December that people who had not been boosted could no longer be classified as fully vaccinated and should therefore be tested regularly.
Meanwhile, the German DFL has announced that it will review the regulations for possible game cancellations again - but no longer for this season but from the 2022/23 season on. The DFL Presidium had commissioned the “Football Commission”, announced the league on Tuesday, “to continue the review of the regulation amended on May 14, 2020 with a view to defining and dealing with long-term injuries” and to develop proposals. A change to the regulation during the current season will be "refrained from in view of the integrity of the competition at the present time," the statement said.
Bayern Munich's CEO Oliver Kahn recently called for a revision of the game rules.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann also suggested discussing the topic again.
The occasion was the start of the second half of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach (1: 2) on Friday.
The game took place despite many corona cases.
The basis is the DFL game rules, according to which 16 ready-to-play players are sufficient for the kick-off.
Banned players or players with “typical sports” injuries are considered to be “available” according to the statutes.
At Bayern, that applied to the injured national player Leon Goretzka.