Bundesliga gets go-ahead to resume season in second half of May
Guardian sport Published on Wed 6 May 2020 09.15 EDT
The Bundesliga has the go-ahead to resume in the second half of May after a meeting involving the the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and state premiers.
The league (DFL) will choose a restart date for games in the first and second divisions, with 16 May the earliest possible resumption, and matches will be held behind closed doors. The league is to hold a meeting via video link on Thursday with the 36 clubs in the top two tiers.
Clubs in Germany have been training for around a month amid Covid-19 testing and the league (DFL) has been keen to finish the season by the end of June, when contracts expire. Players will continue to be tested and teams will have to spend time in quarantine before games can restart.
The push to resume has not been universally welcomed. The DFL said on Monday there had been 10 positive tests for coronavirus among 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and second division, adding that 1,724 tests were carried out over two rounds among players and staff. Cologne last Friday reported three positive cases.
This week Salomon Kalou has been suspended “with immediate effect” by his club Hertha Berlin after posting a video on Facebook of him breaking physical distancing rules with his teammates.
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