2nd league, Karlsruhe: The German Football League (DFL) canceled the second division game between Karlsruher SC and SV Sandhausen. The league association announced this on Friday for the game that was actually scheduled for Sunday (1.30 p.m.) after the KSC had reported a total of 16 corona cases. The game will be postponed “because Karlsruher SC does not have the minimum number of players required by the DFL rules of the game, among other things due to quarantine as a result of positive corona findings,” said the DFL. The catch-up date is now February 8 (6:30 p.m.).
“We can’t manage more than eleven players,” said KSC sports director Oliver Kreuzer beforehand. In addition to the 16 corona cases, there are five professionals in the team who have been injured for a long time, explained Kreuzer. They could not play, even if the tests were negative for them: “So we have to deduct five more from the remaining 16 players.” Sandhausen as an opponent would have liked to play.
Ski jumping, Wellinger: Ski jumping Olympic champion Andreas Wellinger is threatened with the end of the Winter Games in Beijing after a positive corona test. As reported by the German Ski Association (DSV), the 26-year-old from Ruhpolding was positive in an “onboard test” during the journey to the World Cup in Titisee-Neustadt and immediately went into quarantine on Friday. The rest of the German team was not affected. “What can I say? The knee is better again, I had medical clearance and could jump. And then the shitty corona test comes up,” said Wellinger, who after having recovered from problems with the operated knee on Saturday for one of the remaining Olympic starting places wanted to fight: “Unfortunately I can’t do that now, and that’s bitter. I’m in good health, I don’t notice anything, but the CT value was just beyond the limit.”
Wellinger, who was absent in Zakopane last time, should have started qualifying on Friday. After the jumping on Saturday (4.15 p.m. / ARD and Eurosport), national coach Stefan Horngacher wants to award his last two Beijing places, but Wellinger, Severin Freund, Pius Paschke and Constantin Schmid were possible. Karl Geiger, Markus Eisenbichler and Stephan Leyhe are already seeded.
DFB, doctor: National team doctor Tim Meyer sees no evidence of increased medical problems in footballers after vaccinations. When asked in an interview by the Bavarian Football Association about allegations in social media that footballers would collapse in rows after the vaccination on the pitch, Meyer said: “In short: there’s nothing to it! Sometimes it’s annoying, all the false reports that are deliberately spread chasing,” he said. “Since we operate the FIFA register for sudden deaths, we naturally had many such inquiries. There are no indications of an increase in medical problems among soccer players or even more frequent deaths.”
BFV doctor Werner Krutsch made a similar statement. “I’ve also been confronted with this topic. In this unique situation, such topics keep coming up and spread rapidly, especially on social networks,” he said. “In any case, we are sticking to the scientific facts and everyday experiences from the last 22 months – and such claims cannot be substantiated from them. We only issue our recommendations for the health protection of our players based on these principles.” Meyer also commented on heart muscle inflammation as a side effect of vaccination against corona. “Inflammation of the heart muscle is very rare as a side effect of vaccination and it usually seems to be harmless. On the other hand, it occurs much more frequently as a complication of an illness with the corona virus,” said Meyer, head of the Task Force Sports Medicine / Special Game Operations.
