Dhe German national players and their coach looked satisfied when they stepped in front of the microphones on Sunday evening. That had primarily something to do with the 34:20 victory against Austria, which they had swung and easily managed, en passant made the European Championship qualification perfect, but above all it made for a good feeling before taking off World Championship on Tuesday.
In addition to this good feeling after the sporty work was done, there was also one of relief – about the fact that the hoped-for customer from Cairo also came during the 60 minutes of handball on the floor in Cologne. The World Cup in Egypt will now be held without a spectator.
“That will make the bladder much safer”, said national coach Alfred Gislason, for captain Uwe Gensheimer it is “the right decision in the current situation”, and Johannes Bitter, his deputy, said: “I am very happy about the news because it is very much is reasonable. “
Last week, Bitter took the initiative to send a letter to the International Handball Federation (IHF), which was signed by 14 captains of European World Cup teams.
And indeed: the urgent request to think about it again with the spectators – in the end it should be 20 percent of the respective hall capacity – in view of the corona situation, was answered.
The decision was made at a high-level meeting of IHF, organizers and the Egyptian government, led by Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli. It was, said Hesham Nasr, head of the organizing committee and the Egyptian association, a reaction to the initiative of the European Handball Players Union (EHPU), the players’ association that officially acted as the sender of the letter. It’s a first victory for the players.
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