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Bundesliga return confirmed with 2019/20 season restarting later in May

German chancellor Angela Merkel told regional authorities on Wednesday that competition could restart in the next fortnight

Wednesday 06 May 2020 16:00 BST
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The Bundesliga is set to become the first of Europe’s top five leagues to make its return with the season set to restart in the second half of May.

Clubs in the top two tiers of German football have been back in training since last month with a view to restarting the 2019-20 season this month.

German chancellor Angela Merkel told regional authorities on Wednesday that competition could restart in the next fortnight.

The 36 clubs will hold a conference call on Thursday to finalise a resumption date.

Christian Seifert, the managing director of the German Football League (DFL) said: “Today’s decision is good news for the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga.

“It is associated with a great responsibility for the clubs and their employees to implement the medical and organisational requirements in a disciplined manner.

“Games behind closed doors are not an ideal solution for anyone. In a crisis threatening the very existence of some clubs, however, it is the only way to keep the leagues in their current form.

“On this day, I would like to thank the political decision-makers from the federal and state governments for their trust.”

So far Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Turkey and Serbia have all been given dates for restarting their national leagues, all towards the end of May.

The German Football League (DFL) has submitted a health safety plan for games without spectators which includes regular testing of players but no quarantines for entire squads in cases of positive tests.

However, it says that if a player is infected, decisions on the measures to be taken lie with the local health authorities.

On Monday, the DFL said that it had registered 10 positive cases in a blanket test of 1,724 players and staff at its 36 first and second division clubs.

The DFL said a second round of tests would be carried out in the next week and there “may be isolated positive test results”.

Some media reports suggested that hopes of a restart had been hampered by the behaviour of players at Hertha Berlin on Monday.

Hertha forward Salomon Kalou posted a video on social media showing him shaking hands with players and interrupting a team mate’s medical exam.

The club suspended the Ivorian, who apologised and said his behaviour did not reflect the club’s instructions to staff

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