Cologne (dpa) – The relief of the German handball players about the fan exclusion at the World Cup in Egypt was just as great as the joy of the strong performance in the last World Cup test against Austria.
“This is very good news for handball sport and its external impact in the next few weeks,” said goalkeeper oldie Johannes Bitter after the tournament dress rehearsal, won with 34:20 (19: 5), about the joint decision of the world association IHF and of the World Cup organizers.
After a conversation between IHF President Hassan Moustafa and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly as well as other high-ranking government representatives from the North African country, the planned spectator concept with a capacity of 20 percent of the hall capacity was finally rejected on Sunday evening at the urging of Europe’s top nations.
Originally, up to 1040 spectators could have watched the preliminary round matches of the DHB selection in Giza against Uruguay, Cape Verde and Hungary. In the games in Egypt’s handball temple, the Cairo Stadium Sports Hall, 3400 of the total of 17,000 seats could have been occupied. This daring plan is now off the table. “All parties have agreed that the World Cup should take place without spectators in order to guarantee the safety and health of the actors involved in the event,” said the International Handball Federation.
The world association also responded to an urgent appeal from 14 captains of European World Cup participants, including Uwe Gensheimer, who had clearly pointed out the risks of a tournament with spectators in the middle of the corona pandemic in a letter to IHF boss Moustafa. The event, which was ultimately successful, was initiated by Johannes Bitter, among others. “We didn’t want to issue an ultimatum, but rather draw attention to the problem,” said the 38-year-old.
This strategy proved successful. «The decision is a further increase in security. We are very happy about that, ”said DHB sports director Axel Kromer. “We didn’t give that top priority, but we supported the players’ initiative. They found the right words. “
National coach Alfred Gislason also expressed his satisfaction with the relenting of the officials and politicians. “I think it’s very, very positive that this decision was made. This increases the certainty that the World Cup bubble will hold and no one will be infected with corona, ”said the 61-year-old Icelander.
The players, who have to adhere to strict hygiene regulations for the first time in the XXL finals starting on Wednesday with 32 teams, have one less worry. “This is fantastic. We are in a bubble and the hygiene concept makes it safe for us. There are hardly any risks of getting infected if everyone strictly adheres to it, ”said goalkeeper Andreas Wolff. “Spectators in the hall would have been counterproductive.”
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