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Tuesday, September 15, 2020
The time for ghost games is over for the moment: the federal states agreed to a 20 percent capacity utilization of Bundesliga stadiums at the start of the season. The regulation also applies to other sports.
The federal states agreed to uniform rules for fans to return in time for the start of the Bundesliga this weekend. According to information from the German Press Agency of the participants, the heads of the state chancelleries agreed to a six-week trial operation with the spectators in Corona conditions. The limit is 20 percent of the capacity of the respective stadium; in any case, 1000 spectators are allowed in the stadium or in the hall. Because the rules apply not only to football, but also to handball and basketball games.
Based on this information, there should be significant restrictions due to the ongoing corona pandemic. Among other things, tickets should not be issued for fans of the respective visiting teams. Tickets are only sold on a custom basis so that infection chains can be traced. Therefore, there should preferably be fully digital solutions for ticketing.
According to the applicable national regulations, a distance of 1.5 meters must be respected. This is achieved “in particular by reducing the maximum number of spectators, equalizing the flow of visitors through segmentation at entry and exit, the prohibition of serving and consuming alcoholic beverages and the prohibition of entry of people who recognize themselves as drunk”, according to the Decision dpa. However, spectators will not be admitted to the events if the incidence of 7 days per 100,000 inhabitants in the venue is greater than or equal to 35 and the contagion rate cannot be clearly defined. Over the weekend, the DFB-Pokal was a kind of proof of proper hygiene concepts.
Söder awaits balance
The respective responsible sports associations must scientifically accompany the test operation. Particular attention should be paid to the problems of aerosols, traffic control, ticketing, stadium entry and exit, and the differences between indoor and outdoor sports. By the end of October, at the latest, after the decision, a decision must be made on the results of the trial operation and on the transfer to continuous operation.
“It should be a kind of experiment, a test start,” announced Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder. Before the meeting, he had reiterated his call for a common line. “It is important that we get uniform regulation,” Söder said on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting of the CSU parliamentary group at the state parliament in Munich. Anything else would be “very difficult for the League and acceptance.” In addition, it is not only about soccer, but also about volleyball, handball, basketball or ice hockey. “I’ll tell you quite frankly, I could have easily endured six months without a spectator,” Söder said. But he feels “the deep desire of many people for it.” That is why you must strike a sensible balance between security desires and interests.
Fight for the Bundesliga product
Despite all the international admiration for the successful May restart, the Bundesliga must continue to fight for the appeal of its product. The moderate viewership ratings for ghost games at the end of the season are as much a warning sign as the delicate conflict with the ultras in the fight for the future of football. This is one of the reasons the league’s creators recently lobbied vehemently to reopen the arenas to at least a few thousand spectators at the start of the season. There is great concern that the fans will move away from them accelerated by Corona.
However, the league will be far from normal for a long time, as the latest resolutions on “special game operations” have shown: invited fans remain banned from stadiums, in the case of an inflamed infection situation in the region, games can be relocated to other arenas on short notice Clubs in licensing process to be suspended for now; instead of three, five substitutions are still allowed. Everything to get the ball rolling again. “Despite these uncertainties, we cannot remain anxious,” said DFL chief Seifert, emphasizing: “It takes courage in these conditions to start with the firm belief that we can finish this season.”
