Coronavirus: Hertha Kalou striker makes a video that breaks hygiene protocols and the Bundesliga revolt | german football

The 34-year-old former Chelsea striker was seen shaking hands with his teammates and interrupting a medical examination of Jordan Torunarigha, a Hertha athlete. The video, live on Facebook, was removed by Kalou, who was indefinitely suspended by the Berlin club, since it broke several measures imposed by DFL, the entity that manages the Bundesliga, for the return of football amid the pandemic.

“With the video, Salomon Kalou violated the internal rules of the team and displayed behavior that is not appropriate to the situation and does not correspond to the rules of conduct of the club. Therefore, Hertha BSC decided to suspend him from training and games with immediate effect ” says an excerpt from Hertha’s note, which also includes an apology from Kalou:

– I regret giving the impression that I am not taking the coronavirus seriously. I apologize for that. In fact, quite the opposite, because I am especially concerned about people in Africa, because medical care is not as good as in Germany. I really didn’t think and was happy that our tests were negative – said Kalou.

Michael Preetz, Hertha’s sporting director, was even tougher on the fin.

– Salomon Kalou not only caused much harm to Hertha BSC with his video, but mainly in the current social discussion about the resumption of the game and the role of professional football, the impression is that individual players do not take the coronavirus problem seriously – Preetz said, in an interview with the club’s website.

+ German sports minister says he supports return to Bundesliga in May, but “without privileges”

+ German league announces 10 cases of coronavirus among club employees in the first two divisions

DFL condemned Kalou’s behavior in an official statement.

“The images of Salomon Kalou in the Hertha BSC locker room are absolutely unacceptable. There is no tolerance for that, also with respect to the players and clubs that follow the guidelines, because they understood the gravity of the situation, ”says a note published this afternoon by the German soccer league.

Germany’s two main divisions, which were suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, are working to resume in May, but the Kalou video could provoke a negative reaction to this return according to the German press.

+ New round of testing in Cologne has no positive results, and the club will start training again on Monday

The German soccer league said Monday that there were 10 positive tests for the coronavirus between 36 Bundesliga clubs and the second division, adding that 1,724 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in two rounds between players and officials.

Testing will continue regardless of whether competitive games are restarted or not. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and 16 state governors decide on Wednesday whether the Bundesliga can resume without fans. German clubs promise to end the season in late June.