East-West conflict over spectators: 7500 fans in Rostock

Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – The controversy about the re-admission of fans to the stadiums in professional football has intensified before the start of the DFB Cup to a conflict between the federal states in East and West.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania allows up to 7,500 fans for Hansa Rostock’s first round match against Bundesliga promoted VfB Stuttgart on September 13th, Saxony-Anhalt approved around 5,000 visitors for the duel between 1. FC Magdeburg and Darmstadt 98 and Chemnitzer FC may before 4600 spectators play against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Most clubs in western countries, on the other hand, are currently only allowed to let a few hundred fans into the arenas – if at all. A nationwide regulation for the return of fans should only be in place in the course of October.

“It is a good, courageous and very positive start for sport,” said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Sports Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) after a cabinet meeting in Schwerin. “We have by far the fewest number of infections,” she said. In addition, the clubs had presented “excellent concepts”.

State chief Manuela Schwesig (SPD) had previously rejected the demands of her colleagues from Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and Markus Söder (CSU), for a nationwide uniform approach. “If they had low infection rates in their countries and high numbers in the East, the two would have reopened the stadiums long ago,” she told the Spiegel.

1. FC Union Berlin had already created facts in the test match against 1. FC Nürnberg on Sunday with 4500 spectators in the once divided city. RB Leipzig wants to allow around 8,500 fans for the Bundesliga start next week against FSV Mainz 05, Hertha BSC around 4,000 in the first league home game.

Regardless of the approval of the considerable number of fans in Rostock, fans of various sizes are allowed in the stands in many places at the DFB Cup duels. The Corona regulations in the individual countries do not only apply. The local health authorities have the final say. According to the Rhineland-Palatinate restrictions, Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05 should only have allowed 350 spectators to play the cup game against TSV Havelse on Friday. The local authority granted access to 1,000 followers.

But Mainz is also an example of how fragile the situation is in the pandemic. After two positive corona cases in the previous week, it was questionable for a few days whether and how the preparation for the first-round cup game would look like. After further, negative tests, however, the all-clear could be given and team training resumed on Tuesday. The two professionals who tested positive are still in quarantine at home.

Havelse is one of a total of nine amateur clubs that have given their home rights for the cup opener to a professional club because they were unable to meet the corona-related measures and required regulations – or would have threatened a loss. The regional league team 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 will play against FC Schalke 04 in front of 300 fans on Sunday in the Veltins Arena, which can hold around 62,000 spectators. The atmosphere in the Willy Sachs Stadium, which is a quarter as large, would certainly be more homely.

The “home game” for the 1. FC Düren players in the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich will also be an experience. However, the game was postponed to October 15 because of the Champions League triumph. Until then, the chances of admitting a larger number of viewers could increase.

However, the Bavarian state chief Söder confirmed that a nationwide regulation of the return of fans in the Bundesliga will be a long time coming. “In professional sport we will, I guess, sit down again with all federal states in the next two weeks and try to make a reliable plan,” he said after a cabinet meeting in Munich. The regulation should then also apply to basketball, ice hockey and handball.

The fans were looking forward too early to the fact that after the permission from the German Football Association (DFB) there will be a beer serving everywhere for the cup games. Even politics in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is going too far: there is an absolute ban on alcohol at the game in Rostock.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200908-99-476163 / 4

– .