There will probably no longer be fully occupied stadiums in the Bundesliga in the coming weeks. Due to the increasingly worsening corona situation, politicians are forced to limit the number of spectators or even return to ghost games. After the Bund-Länder-Round with the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and her designated successor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday there is agreement that there must be changes. There have not yet been any resolutions, details for specific measures should be worked out by Thursday. Then the next conference of prime ministers will take place.
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But it already seems clear: next weekend there will be some significant cuts that will also affect the top game on Saturday evening between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern. On Wednesday morning, BVB reacted proactively and canceled all 67,000 tickets already sold for the game. It is currently “with a pandemic-related reduction in capacities by the state government to be expected within the next few days,” the club justified the decision.
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Because: In North Rhine-Westphalia, too, there are now clear tendencies towards a restrictive approach. “Pictures like from the weekend in Cologne will not and must not be there again. We will make appropriate decisions,” said the new NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) with a view to the previous game day, when 50,000 fans won the derby of 1. FC Cologne had followed Borussia Mönchengladbach in the stadium. Wüst initially left open what this assessment means for the games at the weekend. According to matching media reports, the arenas should only be able to be used to a third in the future
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For the game between BVB and Bayern, this would mean: Significantly fewer fans than the currently planned 67,000 should be seated in Signal Iduna Park, which can hold around 80,000 spectators. In addition to the top game, the next Bundesliga weekend in North Rhine-Westphalia there will be duels between Bayer Leverkusen and SpVgg Greuther Fürth, between Arminia Bielefeld and 1. FC Köln and between Borussia Mönchengladbach and SC Freiburg. Arminia announced on Wednesday that they were going to sell tickets for the game against Cologne due to the current situation. Gladbach canceled the tickets sold for the game against Freiburg.
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FC Augsburg could even face a ghost game against VfL Bochum on Saturday. “When Christmas markets are closed, it is not right to have full stadiums,” said Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and brought a nationwide waiver of spectators into play: “We are trying to implement it again across Germany, but we would be there in Bavaria go it alone at this point. ” For FC Bayern this could mean that the three home games still outstanding this year against FC Barcelona, Mainz 05 and VfL Wolfsburg will take place in front of empty stands.
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Ghost games in Saxony last weekend
A scenario that was already a reality last weekend in Saxony, which was also badly affected by the pandemic. RB Leipzig lost to Bayer Leverkusen in a ghost game. On Friday, the runner-up at Union Berlin, who was badly affected by the virus, has to run. In the capital, too, politicians are working on further adapting the currently applicable rules. The Senate has not yet passed a resolution, but has promised it this week. Before the next federal-state meeting, the head of the Senate, Michael Müller (SPD), emphasized RBB: “On Thursday it can happen very quickly that we tick behind that.” a maximum of 5000 people are in discussion at large outdoor events.
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In Baden-Württemberg, where TSG Hoffenheim (against Eintracht Frankfurt) and VfB Stuttgart (against Hertha BSC) are in action at the weekend, it seems meanwhile also in the direction of ghost games. It will be “fairly certain” that, among other things, football games and major sporting events can only take place without an audience, said Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens). His Saxon colleague Michael Kretschmer (CDU) would like this regulation nationwide: “There are still three game days until Christmas, and they should happen without a spectator.” Whether this will happen will be decided on Thursday.
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