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Joachim Löw prefers to talk about football. However, on Saturday night in Leipzig, the national coach knew that despite the 3-1 victory against Ukraine, football would not be in the foreground. And then he patiently answered questions about Corona and the game cancellation discussed in advance.
“I can understand people’s concerns and thoughts,” Löw said of the four positive test results on the Ukrainian team and the criticism that they might not have reacted properly. “But I am not the person to talk to, I am a coach. We had to adapt to what UEFA or the health department decides. I cannot say that the game will not take place.”
Löw is right about that. In the end, however, he made it too easy for her with this statement. Because even in the German Football Association, the plan to be able to play the game should have had the highest priority. “We had a fever because there would be no more cases,” DFB director Oliver Bierhoff said before the game at ZDF, revealing a strange relationship to this pandemic. That Bierhoff, who earlier in the week denounced the mood around the young team with his cloud image, but neglected his own role in the overall construction.
Travel, play, live, without intensive contacts
It was a memorable day in Leipzig, which, in all its absurdity, renewed the divided relationship of many observers with the behavior of those responsible for football in the crisis of the crown. On Friday evening, 25 hours before the start, the positive results of the tests in the Ukrainian camp were announced. The four players and the affected supervisor were isolated; With the incubation period specified by the RKI between three and five days, new infections cannot be ruled out. No decision was made on a rejection.
On Saturday morning, almost twelve hours before the start, the health department of the city of Leipzig was in charge of following up the contacts. The Ukrainian side assured the office employees that there should have been no intensive contact between the infected and other players in the previous 48 hours. To understand: the Ukrainian team played in Poland last Wednesday, then they traveled together to Leipzig, stayed in a hotel and prepared together for the game against Germany.
Around noon, the city of Leipzig announced the decision not to extend the quarantine to any other player through its spokesperson. However, to be safe, another set of tests was agreed. According to Bierhoff, the news reached the DFB at 3 pm, six hours before the start, “that the test results were all negative and that gave us confidence.” An hour and a half later, the official confirmation from UEFA followed: The game should take place.
Uefa wants to go through the competitions
The European Football Association plays an important role in this triangle of decision makers. With the stipulation formulated months ago that every match under UEFA’s care must be played as long as twelve outfield players and a goalkeeper are available, the association has demonstrated what is most important: not the health of the players, but the fulfillment of lucrative television contracts (both in the Nations League and in the Champions League).
The example of the Norwegian national team shows that decisions can be made differently. There was one player who tested positive in the run-up to the match scheduled for Sunday in Romania, after which the entire team was quarantined by the Norwegian government and the match was forcibly canceled by UEFA.
For DFB physician Tim Meyer, who was jointly responsible for hygiene concepts for DFB and DFL, the decision in Leipzig remains the correct one. “During the game, the risk of infection is in any case significantly lower than in the environment, which is easier to control,” he said in a post on Twitter. opinion of the doctor. The criticisms of the last days and weeks – also from the Bundesliga – are expressed less by the contacts of the players on the field. Rather, it is about the increase in travel volume during the international break.
The German team will play against Spain next Tuesday for the group victory in the Nations League. In the risk zone of Seville.
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