This is how Swiss sports leagues react to the ghost game decision

The Super League should continue despite the ghost games – in hockey it is still being discussed

The Federal Council is tightening the screws to tackle the corona virus. On Wednesday it was decided that major events would once again be banned across the country starting Thursday. Sporting events with up to 50 people are allowed. Sports and cultural leisure activities with more than 15 people are prohibited. Training and competition in professional sports are permitted, but take place without an audience. The soccer and ice hockey championships are particularly affected by the latest measures to contain the virus in sport.

In an initial statement, the Swiss Football League SFL reacted with consternation: “The decision has enormous negative effects on the financial situation of the clubs. With this renewed ban on attending football matches, football in Switzerland will continue to lose its most important source of income, revenue on match days from ticket sales, catering and VIP clients, ”said a statement. In the medium term, clubs must be confident of being able to play in front of an audience again.

Despite the restrictions, the league and the clubs want to do everything in their power to maintain the championship. The SFL is convinced that even in these epidemiologically difficult conditions, it will be able to organize safe games and offer variety to people at a time with massive restrictions. The SFL is urgently dependent on the fact that if positive test results are available in a club and if the concept of protection is consistently adhered to, the entire team is not quarantined, but only the individuals concerned should be isolated.

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The continuation of the hockey season is not yet certain

Corona’s latest measurements are also a blow to Swiss ice hockey. “With a longer phase of phantom games, the existence of the clubs would be seriously threatened,” write the National League and the Swiss League in a statement.

According to Denis Vaucher, director of ice hockey leagues, three to five million francs per club will be needed by the end of the year alone to ensure survival without spectator revenue. In the run-up to Wednesday’s Federal Council meeting, the twelve National League clubs had asked in an open letter to A-fonds-perdu for contributions for additional losses that were now imminent.

It is currently unclear if the championship will continue without spectators. The leadership of the league and the clubs of the National League and the Swiss League would discuss and decide in the coming days what consequences the decisions of the Federal Council will have for the game.

However, it is already a fact that the top two Swiss hockey leagues and their clubs depend on immediate financial support and the possibility of short-time compensation, even for fixed-term employment contracts, in order to immediately avoid bankruptcies in professional ice hockey.

Ski races can be held

Training and competitions are still allowed in the professional area. This means that the Swiss Alpine World Cup races (St. Moritz, Adelboden, Wengen, Crans-Montana, Lenzerheide), ski jumping (Engelberg) and Nordic skiing (Davos, Val Müstair) can also take place. In the case of alpine and ski jumpers, Swiss-Ski had already decided in advance to forego the spectators.

In popular sport, there is a maximum of 15 people indoors, as well as a mask and distance requirement. Exceptions to the mask requirement are possible if there is generous space, such as on tennis courts. (pre / sda)