Bundesliga teams told to obey rules after hugs, kisses
A senior German politician expects the Bundesliga to “tighten up” instructions on how to celebrate goals after some players hugged—breaching strict hygiene protocol—when the league resumed.
The German season restarted on Saturday after a two-month break due to the pandemic with clubs having agreed to hygiene guidelines in a plan approved by the German government.
“Football has an extreme function to be a role model, so we should stick to our instructions and pay attention to it next week,” Markus Soeder, state minister for Bavaria, told Sport1 on Sunday. “The players must also obey the rules.”
Players were told to avoid contact whenever possible, more so while celebrating goals, yet that was ignored on a few occasions.
Hertha Berlin’s Marko Grujic was kissed on the cheek by teammate Dedryck Boyata on Saturday after their side took the lead in a 3-0 win against Hoffenheim. Some Borussia Moenchengladbach players also hugged after their team scored two early goals in the 3-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hertha coach Bruno Labbadia defended his players for their celebrations. “We’ve been tested so many times that we can allow it,” said Labbadia. “If you can’t celebrate anymore, the whole thing breaks down.”
COLOGNE WASTE LEAD, HELD 2-2 BY MAINZ
Cologne surrendered a two-goal lead on Sunday, with players’ calls echoing around the stadium, as Mainz fought back to earn a 2-2 draw in Bundesliga.
The hosts took an early lead when Mark Uth, on loan from Schalke, converted a penalty with just six minutes gone after the striker was brought down in the area. Cologne added a second goal but Mainza came roaring back with an hour played.
ITALY GIVES NOD FOR FULL SQUAD TRAINING
A clubs will return to full squad training on Monday after being given the clearance by the Italian government.
“From May 18 retail stores, hairdressers, beauticians, bars, restaurants, pubs, football teams’ training sessions and museums will start again,” said the country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Clubs have voted for June 13 as a potential restart date for the league, although this date is yet to be finalised. Individual training had resumed last week on Monday with strict social distancing rules in place.
LA LIGA CLUBS CAN DO GROUP PRACTICE
La Liga has told clubs they will be able to increase training in groups of up to 10 players on Monday as teams take another step towards resumption of season next month.
The Spanish government has announced protocol that will allow training sessions to be expanded by all clubs, even those belonging to areas that are further behind in the country’s de-escalation programme.
It means teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Aletico Madrid will be able to train in groups of 10, a source at La Liga told AFP.