Season
16.03.20
DFL postpones fixtures until 2nd April at the earliest
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the DFL has decided to postpone all Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga activities until the 2nd April. If the league does return at that point, it will most likely be for games behind closed doors.
There will be no games in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga until April 2nd at the earliest, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This decision was reached by the 36 professional football clubs that make up the top two tiers in Germany at a special meeting in Frankfurt on Monday, meaning that the upcoming home game against Arminia Bielefeld (21st March) is also postponed. Further games may be postponed or cancelled in the coming weeks. “I want to clearly state that we aren’t assuming, we’ll be able to play football by the 3rd April,” DFL chief executive Christian Seifert explained at a press conference after the meeting, announcing that the DFL and 36 professional clubs would be meeting again at the end of March. “Priority A, B and C are to contain this virus,” Seifert made clear, whilst also saying, “all clubs have the aspiration of finishing the season, as long as this is possible given the overall health and legal situation in Germany.”
Predictions about whether this solution will be viable are difficult due to the ever-changing circumstances surrounding the outbreak, but Seifert made it abundantly clear that games behind closed doors are likely. “I think they are the only chance of survival for the leagues, therefore I ask for your understanding that we need to consider this possibility.” More is at stake than a few games of football or the jobs of a few professional footballers: “It’s about whether our clubs are able to survive and the 56,000 employees of the 36 professional clubs,” Seifert explained. It is just as important to protect them as the spectator sport that is football. In an emergency scenario, games behind closed doors are an option due to time restrictions, as “we are aware of our responsibility”, the DFL’s chief executive concluded.
When the postponed matches will take place and what will happen for the upcoming matchdays is uncertain at this moment in time. If possible, this decision will be made at the end of March by the DFL and the 36 clubs, taking into consideration the circumstances at that point. The international calendar will also have an impact on the decision, with UEFA’s emergency meeting tomorrow (17th March) possibly bringing about a postponement in Euro 2020 for a year. This decision would at least give the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga time to reach the common goal, which is the completion of the 2019/20 season as planned. If and when that could occur cannot be predicted with any amount of certainty at this point, not for HSV or German professional football in general.