Thursday, November 18, 2021
Loophole for overnight stays
Unvaccinated Kimmich & Co. with a hotel shower
The journey to FC Augsburg is very short for FC Bayern. The Bundesliga club still wants to check into the hotel before the Friday game. And that’s where the unvaccinated people around Joshua Kimmich cause problems. But then it becomes clear: there is an exception. However, it is questionable how much longer.
FC Bayern is currently the Bundesliga club that has been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Three new positive tests were announced on Wednesday. The double vaccinated and already recovered defender Josip Stanisic tested positive after his return from the Croatian national team, team manager Bastian Wernscheid and another supervisor are also affected. None of them have had contact with an unvaccinated player, so no one has to go into quarantine except them.
That was different in the case of Niklas Süle last week with the German national team. In addition, Joshua Kimmich, who was known to be unvaccinated, as well as Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Karim Adeyemi from Salzburg had to leave the DFB team, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was also affected. Based on the Corona regulations, it can be assumed that they are not vaccinated either.
With the exception of Süle, everyone has now been released from quarantine and will be playing for the Bundesliga game at FC Augsburg on Friday (8.30 p.m. in the ntv.de live ticker) to disposal. However, the unvaccinated still cause problems for the club. Because the 2G rules also apply to football professionals – mostly. The club assumed that Kimmich and Co. were not allowed to go to the team hotel in Augsburg. They should have been driven directly to the game by car – a reasonable measure at 80 kilometers away.
Without the exception of 2G, things get complicated
But then the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association announced that there are exceptions to the 2G rule for business travelers, soccer players are considered such. The separate journey is thus superfluous, the unvaccinated are allowed to go to the day hotel. At least in Bavaria. Because North Rhine-Westphalia could decide differently – and on December 4th the top game against Borussia Dortmund is on. Eleven more away games will follow in the Bundesliga alone by the end of the season.
And it could be even more time-consuming for the team organization: The resolution proposal at the Prime Minister’s Conference this afternoon provides for a nationwide 2G rule for hotels to be introduced. By then, at the latest, it will be tight for all unvaccinated footballers to travel to the away games in a relaxed manner. According to “Kicker”, FC Bayern plans to rent a holiday apartment on site in this case. However, according to the definition of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, a holiday home is also considered an accommodation facility – if there are no exceptions for business travelers, the 2G rule could make it really difficult for all clubs to use their unvaccinated players in away games.
It is quite possible, however, that a passage will be inserted into the regulation, as is currently happening in Bavaria, according to which the 2G rule does not apply “to non-tourist accommodation that is absolutely necessary and cannot be postponed”. These more detailed regulations would presumably be possible via state ordinances. Instead, 3G plus could apply, in addition to those who have been vaccinated and recovered, guests with a negative PCR test would also be allowed. Since the clubs regularly conduct tests anyway, hotel stays would be relatively problem-free. At least at home and abroad – for the Champions League trips – there are of course their own rules again.