Borussia Dortmund players left Baku’s Olympic Stadium without showering following their 2-1 Champions League victory over Sabah FK, choosing instead to make a swift return to their team hotel over health concerns, as reported by infobae.com.
The unusual scenes of the German squad boarding their team bus in full match kits and covered in sweat quickly circulated across social media platforms after the fixture. While various rumors initially spread regarding the lack of hot water in the visiting locker room, club officials confirmed that the decision stemmed from precautionary fears regarding a potential bacterial contamination in the stadium’s water supply.
Precautionary Protocols Originated Before Kickoff
Specifically, management worried about Legionella bacteria multiplying within stagnant plumbing systems, prompting a swift logistical pivot that bypassed the stadium’s sanitation facilities entirely ahead of Tuesday’s match.
Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac confirmed after the final whistle that the directive began well before kickoff. “Ayer, después del entrenamiento, tampoco nos duchamos aquí. Nos dijeron que no debíamos hacerlo en el estadio, sino en el hotel. Por eso volvimos rápido,” Kovac stated, noting the protocol had already been applied following Monday’s training session at the venue.
Club Books Hotel Spa for Player Recovery
To accommodate the unusual schedule, club logistics staff booked out the wellness and spa area at the team’s hotel ahead of time. This ensured players could complete their post-match recovery routines in a controlled environment immediately after returning from the pitch.
Sporting director Ole Book attempted a lighter tone when questioned by reporters in the mixed zone, remarking that the hotel’s showers simply offered a more appealing environment than the stadium’s unglamorous facilities.
Stagnant Stadium Water Creates Legionella Infection Risk
Beneath the club’s diplomatic framing lies a documented scientific risk. Legionella bacteria thrive in freshwater environments and can proliferate rapidly in pipes with minimal water circulation, creating high-risk conditions for infection when fine water droplets are aerosolized during showers.
Because Baku Olympic Stadium lacks a resident club utilizing the facilities on a weekly basis, the potential for stagnant water accumulation increases significantly, according to coverage by the German newspaper Bild, which initially broke details of what it termed a locker room crisis.
Counterclaims From Stadium Management
Opposing players and stadium executives pushed back against the precautionary stance taken by the German visitors. Joy-Lance Mickels of Sabah FK expressed surprise in comments to Sky Sports, stating that his squad had showered without issue following their match against Slavia Praga just a week prior.
Firuz Abdulla, head of public relations for the stadium administration, was equally definitive in statements to İdman.biz, maintaining that both hot and cold water supplies operated normally and noting that the venue passes annual international sanitary inspections without incident.
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