The date is set: The DFL decides the exact date for the restart of the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga. Not everyone is happy with that.
The season restart in professional football has been scheduled.
The DFL informed the 36 clubs in the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga by circular letter on Wednesday evening that the season will continue on 15 May. Politicians had previously given the green light for the restart despite the corona crisis.
The date is in the interest of many clubs, but it does bring a lot of explosiveness ahead of the video conference of club bosses on Thursday.
Because not everyone agrees with the chosen date. Especially the representatives of Werder Bremen will probably attend the conference in an angry mood.
The Green-Whites spoke out in favour of 23 May as the start of the restart. “An earlier start would be a competitive disadvantage”, said managing director Frank Baumann.
Baumann emphasized that Werder has so far only been able to train in groups of four due to official regulations. An earlier start would be a competitive disadvantage for the Bremen-based company, as larger groups have already been training in other locations for weeks.
“In order to get used to the competition after a break of about two months and to reduce the risk of injury for the players (…) we will make every effort to ensure that the Bundesliga is continued on 23 May,” Baumann had explained – before Seifert took the wind out of his sails.
It is undisputed that the conditions are not the same for all teams. SC Paderborn, for example, who will in all probability play their first game after the re-start against Fortuna Düsseldorf, started team training on Monday. VfL Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig followed suit on Tuesday.
Mainz hoped for a different solution
FSV Mainz, which has been training in small groups since 7 April and is now also going into team training, should not be too pleased with the DFL’s evening push.
After the approved restart, CEO Stefan Hofmann declared that his club was hoping for “a decision in solidarity in the leagues, because we believe that at least 14 days of preparation in team training is necessary to ensure fair competition”.