Bundesliga clubs will not have spectators in stadiums until the end of October at the earliest after the health ministers of Germany’s federal and 16 state governments rejected the German Football League’s (DFL) proposal to bring fans back.
The DFL’s proposal, which was announced last week, had the approval of its 36 club representatives and featured rules such as not permitting away fans whilst also limiting the capacity of stadiums.
However, for the proposal to be passed it needed to be approved by Germany’s health ministers along with its local authorities. According to the health ministry of the state of Berlin, the reasoning for the rejection is due to the rising numbers of coronavirus infections occurring in the country.
Moreover, it states that local authorities are ‘currently focused on contact tracing, the school start and the return of holidays travellers’.
Health Minister Jens Spahn also explained his reasoning for rejecting the DFL’s proposal, highlighting that having a crowd in stadiums it’s not the right route to take until at least October.
Spahn tweeted: “Thousands of spectators in the stadiums – that doesn’t fit with the current infection rate. Now is the time to not take any avoidable risks. The DFL concept is good in theory.
“We feel that we need to stay vigilant. In the current situation, spectators in the stands would be the wrong signal.”
It is not only the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 that will be affected by the news, with other sports not being able to have any spectators until the health authorities officially deem it safe to do so.
Despite the news, the DFL is expected to continue the new campaign on schedule with the first match taking place September 18. However, with the rejected proposals the competition will be played without spectators whilst continuing to abide by social distancing and COVID-19 guidelines.
