Thought we could use this thread to summarise what we know about the Bundesliga's proposed restart on 9 May so far.
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The 36 professional clubs met with the DFL (German Football League) yesterday (23 Apr) to discuss how this would work and chief executive Christian Seifert said:
"If we start on 9 May, we are ready, if it is later, we will be ready again. For us, what is decisive is what the politicians will decide. It is not for us to decide when."
Earlier in the week the DFL Executive Committee had issued a statement after convening for a joint meeting:
1
The statements of some German minister presidents and also the conference of German sports ministers in reference to a restart without stadium spectators in May are good news for professional football. The DFL and the clubs are conscious of their responsibilities. The Sports Medicine/Special Match Operations Task Force will present a firm, detailed plan with strict hygiene guidelines, necessary testing and ongoing monitoring at the forthcoming Ordinary Assembly on Thursday. At the same time, there will be overarching guidelines regarding match organisation with a minimum of employees present in the stadiums. Notwithstanding the above, the decision regarding a resumption of the season and the final determination on a specific date will, of course, rest with the responsible political bodies.
2
Any assumption that possible continuous testing will cause a shortage of supplies for the general public ignores the facts. Testing capacity has been increased massively in recent weeks. This development is confirmed by bodies including German Accredited Laboratories in Medicine (ALM): According to the latest surveys, there are currently 640,000 tests available per week, which corresponds to an increase in daily capacity of more than 300 per cent in the last five weeks. The plan of the DFL currently under discussion requires less than 0.5 per cent of the current testing capacity. What is more, the existing capacity is not being exhausted according to the ALM. But it is also completely clear that, should bottlenecks actually arise due to future developments such as a second wave of coronavirus infections, the DFL will, of course, not compromise the supply to the general public.
3 The DFL Executive Committee appeals to all professionals and clubs to continue dealing with the current situation in a responsible manner. In particular, it would be counterproductive and, above all, unacceptable to the public if team training as normal were resumed prematurely. The general situation may not be ignored in order to achieve individual competitive advantages with a view to a possible imminent resumption of match operations.
4
The DFL Executive Committee is aware of the fact that nobody wants matches without spectators. For some clubs, they are currently the only option for securing their economic existence, also as an employer. The aim must be to maintain the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in the form in which many people have treasured them for decades – with great tradition, atmosphere inside the stadiums and variety in terms of the clubs.
We do not want an economic crisis to lead to structural damage that could be irreparable and radically change the face of German professional football.
5 The DFL Executive Committee is conscious of the social responsibility that professional football bears. In this regard, it is incumbent on all decision-makers to also engage in self-criticism in reference to undesirable developments in recent years. It is beyond dispute that sustainability, stability and a down-to-earth nature must be among the core values in future. Once this acute crisis has been overcome, these values will have to be turned into tangible actions.
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Ahead of Thursday's meeting, documents had been leaked explaining how and when matches will return. All of that was confirmed by the league's CEO on Thursday:
What does the risk of infection have to be in order to make this medically viable? That's the question likely to ripple out from the meeting of the DFB (German football association) and DFL (German Football League) on Thursday. A task force, headed by national team physician Tim Meyer, has reportedly drawn up a plan that outlines how clubs could return to team training and
play so-called "Geisterspiele" (ghost games), or games played behind closed doors, in the Bundesliga, the second and third divisions and the Women's Bundesliga.
"It cannot be the goal to guarantee one hundred percent security for all concerned. Because that might turn out to be impossible," states a report leaked to several German media outlets in advance of Thursday's meeting. It's more a case of guaranteeing a "medically acceptable risk" in view of the social and economic importance of football — "under the strict premise that there is no competition with the general population for resources to control COVID-19."
While the framework for ghost games and training in teams are described in detail, information relating to the frequency of coronavirus tests on the players, coaches and referees is rather vague. At least once a week, tests will seemingly be carried out, "as close as possible to each match (i.e. at least twice in some game weeks) with an result arriving in good time before the players get to the stadium."
Skeleton staff
The document does not state exactly how long before kick-off a test may be carried out in order to qualify. But it does suggest "that no further measures are necessary on the field of play".
For both training and ghost games, the task force believes the following should apply: as few people in close proximity as possible, at as great a distance as necessary.
During Bundesliga matches, a maximum of 322 people should be in and around the stadium on matchdays - about 100 in each of the three defined zones: inside the stadium, in the stands and outside the stadium. For second-tier matches, the total is 270. This includes not only players, coaches and referees, but also journalists, doping control officers, stewards, emergency services, groundskeepers and ball boys and girls.
The teams will arrive at the stadium separately and at different times and many of the usual rituals, such as lining up alongside each other on the pitch, shaking hands or taking team photos will be abandoned. Mobile sinks are also to be set up in the stadium while protective masks are mandatory for medical personnel and all those involved in TV production. The mixed zone, in which post-match interviews are normally carried out, will remain closed while press conferences will only be conducted virtually. At the security-controlled entrance to the stadium, everyone's health status will be checked and their body temperature measured with an ear thermometer. Each club must have a hygiene officer on site who ensures that all hygiene requirements are met.
Closed shop?
Two of the task force's recommendations in particular will likely provide ample material for discussion. "No automatic reporting of a positive [coronavirus] case to the press, since disease verification as well as clear documentation of suspected transmission routes take priority," the report states. This doesn‘t sound like a transparent approach to a pandemic situation.
In view of the close-knit medical control network among professional teams, the experts also consider the "abandonment of group quarantine" to be justified. In other words, the entire squad need not necessarily be automatically quarantined if a player is infected. In this context, the task force simply recommends "ensuring a sufficiently large squad in the season's run-in at an early stage".
(dw.com)
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The final decision will have to be made by the government when the federal and 16 state governments meet on 30 Apr. Those hoping for an early return to football will have welcomed comments from the premiers of Germany's two biggest states who made their position fairly clear. Markus Söder of Bavaria said "a weekend with football is much more bearable than a weekend without football, that's why I could picture to have matches behind closed doors." He and Armin Laschet, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, both feel it's conceivable the Bundesliga could restart as soon as 9 May.
But yes, I believe every case will be problematic. Let's say a players tests positive after having played a match, how do you handle that? Do both teams get quarantined?