Berlin (dpa) – In the stadiums and sports halls it will be bleak again after Christmas due to the rapid spread of the Omikron variant of the corona virus.
“Major national events are no longer allowed to take place with an audience, this applies in particular to football matches,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) after consulting with the state premiers.
DFL: “Regrettable, but understandable”
The German Football League (DFL) regretted the measure, but showed understanding. The temporary restrictions are “regrettable but understandable – even if we all hoped until recently that there would be no nationwide return to games without fans in the stadiums,” it said in a statement by the league association. The DFL called again to get vaccinated or to have the vaccination refreshed.
Under point 12 of the resolution of the federal-state summit it was stated: “Large-scale national events will take place without spectators from December 28, 2021 at the latest.” This means that the top leagues in basketball and ice hockey will have to prepare for ghost games nationwide again. “This is not good news for all professional sport,” said managing director Alexander Wehrle of the Bundesliga soccer club 1. FC Köln.
Bundesliga goes into the winter break
The Bundesliga takes a break until January 7th, the 2nd Bundesliga and the 3rd league until January 14th. The basketball Bundesliga and the German ice hockey league DEL have also scheduled games over the festive season and the turn of the year. The men’s handball Bundesliga (HBL) will take a break from the European Championship until the beginning of February after December 28th.
HBL managing director Frank Bohmann (57) said the break “sounds more comfortable than it is. We will have to adjust to difficult times.” However, a break in the season has never been as good as it is now. On this Wednesday there will be another “jour fixe” for the clubs to consult, he said.
Among other things, the Corona Help Professional Sport program was extended by the federal government and the states. This would have expired on December 31st. Nevertheless, the economic concerns of the clubs are increasing in view of the further probable loss of income.
“For FC this means a loss of 1.8 million euros in sales per game. That also means that we will have to take action in the coming weeks and months,” said Kölns Wehrle and complained: “All of the findings that we have from the health authorities or from Health Department Cologne, say that there were no hotspots at open-air events. “
Bremen’s Filbry: “Complete understanding”
Second division Werder Bremen is also expecting a drop in income of around 1.1 million euros per game. Nevertheless, Werder boss Klaus Filbry endorsed the political measures: “Due to the expected dynamics that the Omikron variant will bring to the pandemic, we fully understand the decision of the politicians.”
At the last federal-state round at the beginning of December – at that time under Chancellor Angela Merkel – the federal government and state leaders agreed on a maximum of 50 percent of the capacity in the arenas of the Bundesliga or a maximum of 15,000 spectators. In sports halls there should be no more than 5000 spectators.
Some federal states took even tougher measures. Saxony and Bavaria ordered a ban on spectators. Among others, the German soccer champions Bayern Munich and league rivals RB Leipzig played in their home games in front of empty stands.
There will also be no visitors at the two ski jumping competitions of the Four Hills Tournament on Bavarian soil in Oberstdorf (December 29) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1). The tournament jumping in Austria on January 4th in Innsbruck and two days later in Bischofshofen are initially planned with spectators – albeit in a very limited number.
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