Dhe return of the Bundesliga to football games with spectators at the start of the season on September 18 is not a sure-fire success. Less than a week after the German Football League (DFL) provided a template for politics and health authorities with its concept, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and the chairman of the Conference of Health Ministers, Dilek Kalacy (SPD), made it clear on Monday that one a quick decision on this issue is not to be expected.
He will try, in coordination with the federal government, to hold a prime ministerial conference on the Bundesliga in the last week of August, said Söder after an unscheduled video conference in his cabinet. Before the Health Ministers Conference, Kalacy made it clear that professional football was “not at the top” of the priority list. It is also not planned to make a decision on the DFL concept.
League circles had already heard last week that a quick political decision was not expected due to the increase in the number of cases, which is completely understandable in this situation. In addition, Söder’s influence in the committee of prime ministers is considered to be decisive, football games with spectators would hardly be enforceable against his will. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmar (CDU), on the other hand, signaled approval of the DFL concept and the quick return of fans. “I am of the opinion that you now have to give them the chance to try this out”, said Kretschmer in the “ARD-Mittagsmagazin”.
It is important to take a step forward at this point too. On the other hand, Kretschmer rejects mass tests by fans before the stadium visit, which had been brought into the discussion by DFB President Fritz Keller and Union Berlin. From his point of view, this is not practical. You can’t test so many people beforehand. “The principle has to be: Just like at work, like when shopping, a sporting event has to be organized so that you cannot get infected.” The DFL does not pursue such plans in its concept either.
On Monday, however, the Bavarian Prime Minister did not comment on specific scenarios for the start of the league. However, he expressed his skepticism towards games in “full stadiums”, which the DFL had never called for. “I was very committed to starting ghost games. It’s going great too. But when the stadiums are full for the Bundesliga start, I’m extremely skeptical. I can’t imagine it at the moment, ”said Söder. “It’s also not wise if we start school when it’s the beginning of autumn to consider that we then have an additional 20,000, 25,000 people in the stadiums.” The concept could theoretically have good approaches, but the plans are difficult to implement, so Söder.
Rather, in its concept, the DFL has stipulated that standing places will not be available until October 31 in order to be able to better maintain the distances in the stadium. It prohibits the serving of alcohol in order to avoid additional risks. Away fans are also not allowed to attend any games until December 31st to prevent travel activities. With personalized tickets, possible chains of infection should remain traceable. “But it would also send a devastating signal to the public. Both in terms of medical capacities and cultural events, ”said Söder. “I can imagine full stadiums over the course of the season, but not at the start of the Bundesliga.”
The conclusion drawn many times after Söder’s statements that the chance of a league start with fans has now dropped to a minimum, the statements do not give. The CSU politician refers in his assessments either to sold out stadiums or to capacities that are well above the number of 10,000 spectators, which DFL managing director Christian Seifert had already classified as too high for the league start in September. So it is more of a game of confusion by Söder.
According to assessments from professional football, the development of the number of infections in the coming weeks should be decisive for games with fans. Meanwhile, the medical association “Marburger Bund” warned against a general return of spectators to the stadiums. “The risk of mass contagion would be real. If we’re unlucky, a super spreader sits among the fans and the virus spreads like wildfire, ”said chairwoman Susanne Johna to the“ Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung ”. The endeavors of the DFL are understandable, “but it is unrealistic that their concept prevents contagion”.
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