Rules, calendar, fans …: the 10 questions we ask before the return of the Bundesliga – Bundesliga 2019-2020 – football

Bundesliga

Pizarro allegedly placed in quarantine

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At the bottom of the ranking, Paderborn and Werder Bremen are currently condemned to relegation. Düsseldorf, 16th in the ranking, is temporarily a barrage specialist.

Is the championship calendar upset?

By June 27, nine Bundesliga days will be played. So there will be very busy weeks with matches every three days. Borussia Dortmund, for example, will play three key games in the title race in the space of seven days, between 23 and 30 May.

The second German division, whose resumption is also set for May 16, will end on June 28 if sanitary conditions allow.

After two months without playing, are the players ready?

This is one of the major questions raised by this recovery. Players from different Bundesliga clubs, who have been training individually or in small groups since the beginning of April, did not resume group training until May 9, one week before the start. A preparation that may seem a little fair, especially on the physical level.

• “Bundesliga players will be exposed to irreversible damage”

Wilhelm Bloch, a renowned sports doctor in Germany, told AFP that “players are not optimally prepared. Depending on the level of preparation, the risk of injury increases. We can imagine that the players will be more prone to injuries, and that we will see muscle injuries, but also injuries to the musculoskeletal system, tendons. “

How are players tested?

The players and their coaching are tested twice a week minimum and on the eve of matches. Anyone declared positive will be immediately removed from the group. The referees will also be tested before the matches, and replaced in the event of a positive result.

Who decides to quarantine a club?

In Germany, a federal state, the decision to quarantine the team is not up to the clubs but to the local health authorities. Each of the German regions has its own policy to prevent the epidemic. For example, the team from Dresden (Saxony) was placed in quarantine after the detection of two cases while that of Mönchengladbach (North Rhine-Westphalia), which also has two positive cases in its ranks, continues to s ‘train.

Are the rules of the game changed?

Following a proposal from FIFA and the IFAB, the DFL has confirmed that teams will be able to make five replacements per game, but only in three different slots. Thus, if the team makes a replacement at half-time and another at the 60th minute, it will only be able to stop the match once for a replacement, but will have the possibility of making three changes at this time. -the.

FIFA and IFAB have also left it up to the various authorities to decide whether or not to use VAR when the championships are resumed. The DFL has not communicated on this subject, which suggests that the referees will be able to call on video assistance from the 26th day of the Bundesliga.

What sanitary measures will be taken at the stadium?

The players of the different teams will arrive at the stadium in different buses and will all have to be fitted with masks. In the locker room, a distance of 1.5 meters between each player is recommended.

Around 300 people will be allowed to go to the stadium on a match day. They will be spread over three different zones and cannot travel from one zone to another. There will be the “lawn area” (teams, referees, doctors and photographers), the “grandstand area” (press and cameramen) and the “stadium outside area” (security, bus), bounded by the walls and fencing of the pregnant.

After the meetings, there will be no mixed zone or press conference. Post-match interviews will take place through Plexiglas walls. Only ten print journalists will be admitted to the stadium for each meeting.

And on the ground?

The whole pre-match protocol is upset. The teams will return to the field through the tunnel, one after the other, and will not be accompanied by children as tradition dictates. Before the game begins, players will not shake hands, take group photos, or exchange pennants. On the bench, players will have to wear a mask.

During the match, contacts must be limited to playing actions. The ball will be regularly disinfected and the players are invited to celebrate the goals with their feet and elbows.

Can supporters meet to watch the matches?

In the regions where the deconfinement measures are the most flexible, supporters will in theory be able to meet. Restaurants have been open again since May 11 in Bavaria, for example. But the boss of the German Football League (DFL) called for everyone’s responsibility: “I do not believe that supporters and their organizations will please those who criticize them for behaving like this. “

The mayor of Dortmund has explicitly asked BVB supporters not to meet in front of Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, the day of the Ruhr derby against Schalke. To avoid rallies and allow every German football fan to watch the matches from their home, the Bundesliga broadcaster Sky has decided to retransmit on a free channel the multiplexes of the first two days of recovery.

Concretely, is Germany ready to see football resume?

Germany is the European country with the most flexible deconfinement measures. For example, some cafes and restaurants have already reopened, which is not yet the case in France, Spain or Italy. But across the Rhine, the question of the resumption of football still divides.

• Between hope and fear, the Bundesliga advances towards recovery on a thread

Although a large part of German public opinion is in favor of this recovery, there are still politicians and actors in the medical profession who say they are against it. The German soccer league (DFL), which has been pushing hard for authorities to resume the championship, could see its image deteriorate if the recovery revives the epidemic.