The last year has affected the entire nation and also led to significant changes and cuts in professional football. What started with a lockdown at the beginning of March later turned into strict security concepts in the Bundesliga. Today, it is possible for teams to play their matches in compliance with this concept and to maintain match operations. But how can professional tournaments actually be implemented in lockdown without taking a risk for the players, the coaches and the team?
The Bundesliga games in Corona time
In the football live stream, fans have the opportunity to continue to follow their favourite teams and watch all matches. Even though many fans initially doubted the feasibility of the Bundesliga, it has become a welcome change in recent months. Discussions on betting sites have shifted to other topics. The last positive Coronatest of FC Bayern star Thomas Müller initiated a resumption of the Corona discussion around the meaningfulness of the Club World Cup in Qatar.First and foremost, these discussions are about the privileges that professional footballers enjoy. They continue to travel around the world to the games, while in Germany people are restricted and for months some of them were not even allowed to leave their place of residence further than 15 km. Not least, the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has voiced clear criticism of the many international trips of footballers to tournaments. This would set anything but a good example, as the government had actually advised against travelling.
The upcoming tournaments and competitions in 2021
So far, the empty stands and deserted arenas have been the only evidence of teams playing in lockdown. Internationally, a great many competitions will continue to be played. One of the bigger tournaments recently was the Men's Handball World Cup in Egypt, where 32 nations competed. International tournaments and matches are scheduled for the coming weeks. The Champions League started in February. In addition, the European Football Championship is scheduled for June. The Olympics in Tokyo will follow shortly thereafter. It is still questionable today whether the Olympic Games will really take place.Criticism on the pitch
Exuberant jubilant scenes in top-class sport in particular are viewed extremely critically by experts such as the epidemiologist Uwe Liebert of Leipzig University and as a fatal sign for the population. While the players hug and cheer each other on the pitch, it seems to the spectators as if there were no pandemic at all. All over the country, people are urged to keep their distance and to be considerate. In addition, contacts are to be reduced to a minimum. That is why the experts would like to see a tightening up when it comes to implementing hygiene concepts on the pitch.The epidemiologists are equally unsympathetic to the major international competitions and tournaments. After all, teams from different countries come together here. There are countries with low infection rates and countries with very high infection rates. It would be worth considering whether it would not make more sense to suspend these tournaments until the situation is under control again. The German Football League (DFL) does not yet have a clear regulation for what happens on the pitch.
