Munich and Dortmund – Because of Corona, Health Minister Spahn and NRW Prime Minister Laschet plan to cancel major events. The Revierderby already becomes a ghost game.
Will the district derby between Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 become a ghost game? (Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund – Schalke 04, Sat. 15.30 h)
According to BVB, a decision on this will be made “by Tuesday at the latest”. As Borussia announced on Monday, the company expects a prompt decision by the responsible authorities and does not want to anticipate this.
Dortmund’s return match in the Champions League round of 16 against Paris St.-Germain had already been declared a ghost game due to the progressive spread of the corona virus.
“Those responsible at BVB are currently taking the situation surrounding the containment measures with the necessary seriousness and are obtaining the latest assessments from politicians, authorities, associations and other institutions,” the Black-Yellows announced.
BVB derby against Schalke without fans?
Strictly speaking, the alternatives for the district derby are limited to a ghost game or a complete cancellation of the match.
After North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Armin Laschet had already declared on Sunday afternoon that he would follow the recommendation of Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn to cancel events with over 1000 participants due to the coronavirus, NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann became even clearer on the ARD talk show Anne Will in the evening – and announced that the fans in the stadium would be left out of the game between Dortmund and the Königsblauen.
“We will implement the recommendation made by the Federal Minister of Health in NRW. Tomorrow or now, absolutely clear”, the 62-year-old said on Sunday evening in the talk show. “I am also glad that he made this recommendation, because I think we need an approach to this issue that is the same in Germany.
Meaning: All matches in North Rhine-Westphalia will be played without fans or cancelled until further notice!
BVB duel with PSG in the Champions League also affected
For the CL-cracker PSG against BVB the exclusion of spectators was already announced by the Paris police on Monday. A PSG spokesman had already emphasized on request: “Health comes first!
Dortmund announced that they had already been prepared for the ghost game: “We will inform the public directly as soon as we can provide binding answers to the questions that are currently – understandably – circulating.
BVB will fly separately to Paris on Tuesday in any case and will take the shortest possible route to the gate. No contact with fans. No interviews in advance. UEFA has already informed the club that there will be no mixed zone in Paris.
Two derbies without fans
Meanwhile, the announcement by politicians for NRW next week does not only concern the match between Dortmund and S04 on 14 March.
The derby between Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1 FC Köln, which has already been postponed to 11 March due to the low level of the storm Sabine, the games between Düsseldorf and Paderborn on Friday and Cologne against Mainz on Saturday, and two second-division games will also be played without fans. (Bundesliga: Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1st FC Cologne from 18.30 hrs)