Cologne (dpa) – 1. FC Köln is still not allowed to play its home games in the Bundesliga in front of more than 10,000 fans. The Münster Higher Administrative Court rejected an urgent application by FC against the Corona Protection Ordinance that is still valid in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The people of Cologne wanted to ensure that 25,000 spectators were allowed into the arena for the upcoming game against Eintracht Frankfurt this Saturday – and also referred to the decision by the city of Cologne for so-called “customs zones” on the carnival days.
“The aim of the legislator to avert the dangers to the life and health of the population and the functionality of the health system is – even today – more important than the economic interests of the applicant,” said the court in the decision. “The applicant only claimed that the consequences of the current capacity limitation are threatening their existence and did not provide any rudimentary evidence.”
The court did not follow the comparison to carnival. In the customs zone, vaccinated fools should be allowed to celebrate with an additional test or a booster vaccination. This is “probably not a violation of equality,” the court ruled. Rather, according to the “regulators”, the customs zones are zones in public spaces with additional restrictions. “A relaxation of existing measures is not to be seen here,” says the court.
The federal and state governments decided on Wednesday that from March 4th, nationwide major events – which include Bundesliga games – may be held with up to 25,000 fans (with a maximum occupancy rate of 75 percent). From March 20th, all far-reaching protective measures against the corona virus are to be lifted.