Dhe Corona numbers, which are rising sharply again, are also posing ever greater challenges for professional football. The Bundesliga game scheduled for Saturday between FC Augsburg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 was initially canceled this Thursday. “Due to positive corona findings, Mainz is still not available with the minimum number of players required by the DFL rules of the game,” wrote the DFL. There is no new date yet. The plan is for Mainz to catch up on the game against Dortmund next Wednesday.
According to the club, a total of 20 people from the Mainz team and the coaching and supervisory staff have been infected with the corona virus so far. The prescribed quarantine period will soon expire for a number of professionals, but it wasn’t enough for the game against Augsburg.
The second division club Hamburger SV has also submitted an application for a postponement. After a corona outbreak in the team, the north Germans want to postpone the home game against FC Erzgebirge Aue scheduled for Saturday. “Unfortunately, we would not be able to play in the current situation and have canceled the training sessions scheduled for today,” said HSV sports director Jonas Boldt.
Positive tests in Hamburg and Düsseldorf
The suspected corona cases were confirmed after tests. “A large part of the squad and staff has contracted the corona virus,” said HSV, without naming the exact number of sick people. League competitor Fortuna Düsseldorf became more specific and already reported 14 infected professionals, head coach Daniel Thioune is also affected. It is unclear whether the Düsseldorfers can compete in Paderborn on Saturday. The club is now in exchange with the DFL, it said. The remaining healthy players complete their training sessions.
More and more clubs are worried about corona failures. An unspecified number of suspected cases is making SC Freiburg’s planning for Saturday’s game against VfL Wolfsburg more difficult. 1. FC Union Berlin has to do without a quartet against VfB Stuttgart after further cases. After goalkeeper Andreas Luthe and striker Kevin Behrens, the iron players are missing midfielders Levin Öztunali and Genki Haraguchi, who also tested positive for the virus.
Borussia Mönchengladbach is missing the important league game on Saturday against Hertha BSC, of all coach Adi Hütter. The Austrian is in quarantine after a positive corona test. In Frank Geideck, another of Hütter’s assistants has been in isolation since Tuesday. Interim coach Mike Büskens is also absent from FC Schalke 04 in his first game in his new role. Because of his infection, he was only able to follow the first practice sessions of the second division team from his home office. Schalke sports director Rouven Schröder has also become infected and, like Büskens, will not be there for the game on Sunday in Ingolstadt.
Further decisions are pending. According to the DFL rules of the game, an application for a transfer can be granted if fewer than 16 players are available. Among them must be at least nine licensed players and among them one goalkeeper. Injured or banned actors count as available and not in the absences.
