Stringent rules for Germany’s Bundesliga return
Berlin, Sunday
Football could be coming back. Fans and players in England will be holding their breath as Germany’s Bundesliga aims to restart on May 9.
A document released by the German FA and the DFL has mapped out how the game can return safely amid the coronavirus crisis, how players will train and play matches as well as what happens if someone contracts Covid-19 before the season is finished.
Also Read:
Players can live either in team hotels or at home but sex and kissing is banned if they or their partners show symptoms of the virus.
Stadiums will allow a maximum of 300 people at one time, including only four policemen, 10 journalists, four ball boys, eight groundsmen and 50 security staff.
If it works in Germany, then it will give a huge push to the return of live football in England.
How players can train
The whole team will be tested before their first training session, then twice a week until the end of the season, one of which is just before a match.
Players should also stagger their arrival at training and text the hygiene officer to confirm they are clear of any symptoms.
Contact training should be minimised with team meetings held in big rooms and only for ‘compelling reasons’, with players keeping two metres apart. No eating will be allowed in the kitchen and food must be taken away.
Players will be encouraged to shower and change at home and they must put their own kit and boots into the washing machine.
How players can play
Teams should arrive on several buses to help increase distance, or wear face masks. Their buses will be disinfected before entering the stadium.
Each team should arrive and leave at a different time, and for home games players should arrive in their own cars.
The body temperature of players will taken on arrival with ear thermometers, and each room will also be disinfected, with doors to be left open.
Starting line-ups and subs should change in different facilities and warm up separately. Their time spent in the dressing-room will be kept to a minimum with two-metre social distancing imposed and players will shower individually.
The food is to be prepared in advance by team chef, and players will only use personalised drinks bottles.
Where players can live
Teams should either have their own hotel or have their own floor, with their own entrance and elevator, to avoid contact with other hotel visitors and maintaining two-metre distancing between each other.
Players will be instructed to stay inside as much as possible, receive few visitors, and also avoid crowds if they go out with no use of public transport whilst maintaining two-metre distancing.
They must keep a record of family members and their safety record.
They will also be told to avoid kissing or sex with partners who are showing symptoms and to not share toothbrushes, towels, dishes, drinks or bed sheets.
What happens if someone tests positive?
If someone tests positive, it is not necessary for the whole team to automatically go into quarantine.
However, the infected player must self-isolate from his family and fellow team members for 14 days from the start of symptoms. They will also have to stay in different rooms to family members, sleep in separate beds and wear a face mask. -Dailymail
