Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – Tested positive. With or without symptoms. In isolation. Tested free. In advanced training after illness. The Bundesliga is fighting its way through the corona pandemic in these categories.
In view of the increasing number of infections caused by the virus variant Omikron, failures are becoming part of everyday life. Before the second second round matchday on the weekend, the German Football League (DFL) made it clear that it would not change its rules for game cancellations this season.
“I believe that it will always affect teams. I don’t know whether it will distort competition. Everyone has to be careful around their surroundings,” said Mönchengladbach coach Adi Hütter on behalf of many. “Of course it’s not easy. You can’t lock yourself up either.” The league’s corona situation:
The vaccination rate:
According to the DFL, it is significantly higher in the 1st and 2nd league than in society as a whole. “Of the more than 90 percent of all players, coaches and supervisors who have been vaccinated, more than 70 percent have already received a booster vaccination,” said Ansgar Schwenken, Director of Football Affairs and Fans, on bundesliga.de. “The basis for this number is voluntary information from the clubs as part of a corresponding query by the DFL.”
The Bavarian patient:
After a total of 13 failures – including 9 who tested positive – in the 1: 2 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the situation at Bayern Munich relaxed again: For example, national goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sané completed parts of the team training before the game on Saturday at 1. FC Köln. With the corona returnees, however, one has to wait and see how they react to stress. “I am not counting on an extremely large number of returnees who are eligible for the first team in Cologne,” coach Julian Nagelsmann had said the previous weekend.
Uncertainty in test results:
The nationwide debate about the reliability of tests has of course also affected professional football. The case of Jesper Lindström from Frankfurt shows that even PCR tests can be diffuse. The Dane had initially been reported as tested positive by the Hessians, but then after repeated negative tests for a short time as being able to play against Borussia Dortmund. There are also cases of ambiguous tests such as Eintracht midfielder Djibril Sow, who was therefore initially missing.
Some relaxation:
During the short winter break, numerous professionals brought Corona with them from their vacation and first had to be quarantined. This is now over for many. At RB Leipzig, for example, Dani Olmo, Benjamin Henrichs and Solomon Bonnah are back in training after surviving the infection. Those responsible hope that the number of cases will decrease again after the players are now back in the daily training and league routine with the prescribed hygiene measures. But there are always new cases like the last one at Bayer Leverkusen with Paulinho and Niklas Lomb.
New quarantine rules:
It helps the clubs that the federal and state governments have shortened the quarantine and isolation times. There is no risk of a team being paralyzed by mass isolation. Anyone who has been boosted, has been newly vaccinated twice or has just recovered (not more than three months ago) does not have to be in quarantine if they have had contact with someone infected with Omicron. The quarantine for infected people has been shortened from 14 to ten days, and a free test is possible after seven days.
Requirements for game withdrawals:
Bayern Munich’s chairman of the board, Oliver Kahn, called for a revision of the game rules because injured and banned people are not counted among the failures when it comes to postponing the game. 16 ready-to-play players are enough for the kick-off. The DFL reacted to the criticism and has the current regulations for possible game cancellations checked again from the 2022/23 season. The “Football Commission” was charged with doing this. The review of the regulation, which was last amended on May 14, 2020, has already begun. A change to the regulation during the current round will be “refrained from in view of the integrity of the competition at the present time”. The DFL has been advising the clubs to coordinate closely with the local health department for weeks. The local authorities set different priorities.
Effects on the transfer market:
Nobody knows how many players are still out. That is why the clubs are currently not trying to get rid of some permanent reservists during the winter break, as is usually the case. “We will take the current Corona situation into account and not sell anyone for heck-out-a-hell. Especially since we will be playing every three days again from March,” said sports director Markus Krösche from the Europa League participant in Frankfurt. Third division club Eintracht Braunschweig even announced that they would be expanding their squad. Football would “get better through Corona”, even predicted Fredi Bobic, sports director of Hertha BSC.
The sporting consequences:
“I don’t hope that in the end you have to talk about who came through better in January or February,” said Bobic. But the probability is high – from the first to the third division. “That can be a factor in the fight for promotion or against relegation,” said sports director Oliver Kreuzer from the second division club Karlsruher SC. Braunschweig’s sports director Peter Vollmann puts it more clearly: “Corona will influence results in the coming months, decide games and cause shifts in the table.”
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