Friday June 18, 2021
“This is about fundamental rights”
League bosses dream of the sold-out Westfalenstadion
The corona numbers in Germany continue to decline. The European Championship games in Munich see 14,000 spectators. In other countries, the plan is to use 100 percent capacity. The league bosses Seifert, Rummenigge and Watzke are now calling for the fans to relax.
The Supercup with the eternal classic BVB against Bayern in front of over 80,000 fans in the fully occupied Dortmund Westfalenstadion? In view of the ever-decreasing corona numbers, not only top football officials want a return to normality soon. “We are happy to sit down with all the relevant organizations and advise what is possible and useful,” said BVB boss Joachim Watzke. In a joint “Bild” interview with DFL boss Christian Seifert and Munich’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, he spoke out in favor of the Dortmund duel against the German champions on August 17 being a model test with a sold-out stadium could.
After the German Bundesliga in the corona pandemic under the leadership of DFL boss Seifert started playing again with its hygiene concept as the first professional league in Europe and thus was an international pioneer and source of ideas, there is now urging for the spectators to return quickly to the Soccer stadiums. “This is about the basic rights of people and companies. There were good reasons to temporarily restrict them. But there are now more reasons to gradually withdraw these restrictions,” said Seifert. He sees “currently few reasons not to gradually return to normal operations for major events of any kind in the second half of the year.” In the past season – apart from a few games at the end of the season – played without spectators.
Bundesliga no longer a role model
Seifert is somewhat bothered by the fact that in other countries, which started playing again much later than Germany in the preseason, but are now acting more aggressively when re-admitting fans. “At the beginning we looked to Germany from all over the world and our restart was taken as proof of how well Germany is managing the crisis. That is no longer the case,” said Seifert. Denmark, for example, is planning to have 100 percent audience capacity from August 1 on by presenting a Corona passport. “I don’t think that there are fewer responsible politicians or virologists active there than in Germany. But perhaps in other countries one is further with regard to a holistic approach that works not only epidemiologically, but also psychologically, sociologically and economically,” said Seifert.
For him, nothing speaks against sold-out stadiums at football matches or concerts, if only those who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested are allowed to come. “As far as I know, there is not a single international indication that a major event involving people who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered or who have tested negative results in a greater risk,” said Seifert. On the other hand, there are numerous indications that hygiene concepts in stadiums, halls, theaters, cinemas and restaurants had worked well even before the lockdown and that “these places were not the drivers of the pandemic. But that was often ignored.” Rummenigge wishes “FC Bayern and football as a whole that we will all be able to play in our stadiums very soon without any risk with a full band, i.e. with 100 percent audience capacity.” Some clubs have already started selling season tickets, others are still waiting.
Rummenigge assumes that when the Bundesliga starts on August 13th, the stadium will be more busy than at the European Championship, and “then hopefully it can be increased gradually until the stadiums are full.” 14,500 spectators are admitted to the four European Championship games in Munich.
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