As announced, the three Lower Saxony third division football teams Eintracht Braunschweig, SV Meppen and VfL Osnabrück have taken the spectator restrictions in Lower Saxony to court.
They submitted a so-called standard assessment application to the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court in an urgent procedure and now hope to be able to play in front of more than 500 fans again this Saturday. This emerges from a joint statement by the clubs. Promoted TSV Havelse had previously confirmed that they would not take part in the three neighbors’ joint move.
Those responsible from Braunschweig, Meppen and Osnabrück accuse the state government of going it alone because the corona-related upper limit of 500 spectators at football games only applies in Lower Saxony. It is a “nationwide unique process not to follow the nationwide recommendation of the state conference of February 2, 2022, to allow up to 50 percent of the maximum capacity or a maximum of 10,000 spectators in the football stadiums for major national events outdoors,” says the Communication from the three clubs.
DFB Vice President Frymuth indicates understanding of the clubs
According to the German Football Association, the procedure contradicts the latest recommendations of the federal-state resolutions. “It is difficult to understand why Lower Saxony, in contrast to other federal states, is taking a special path to the detriment of sport. There is no conclusive regional justification,” said Peter Frymuth, DFB Vice President of Game Operations and Game Development. The DFB fully understands that the clubs are taking action against the decision.
The heads of the state and senate chanceries had decided last week that stadiums and halls across Germany could again be filled with more spectators. However, this decision must also be included in the Corona regulations in every federal state, which Lower Saxony is still rejecting, at least for the time being. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) justifies this with the unchanged high corona numbers in the country.