First ghost games, now 1000 fans. And no sign of improvement. Now Leipzig’s club boss Bundesliga clubs threaten to escalate”>Oliver Mintzlaff (46) is talking Tacheles!
You recently said that football has to be used for everything. How unfair do you feel you are being treated right now?
Mintzlaff: “The result of the Prime Minister’s Conference in relation to major events is incomprehensible to us. In this respect, the MPK has remained unsuccessful. And of course that’s disappointing, because not only we in football, but also all other major organizers expected higher capacities. There are more and more indoor events, some of which are allowed to have a significantly higher occupancy rate than we can, for example, in our arena with 1,000 spectators. That is completely disproportionate.”
BILD: How can you explain that?
Mintzlaff: “I can not explain this. Look: We’ve been in this pandemic situation for two years now. Many experts and politicians had two years to deal with it. We have presented absolutely resilient hygiene concepts, at RB Leipzig they all meet the 2G status. With us, symbolism is practiced. We have the feeling that in many areas politicians think more in terms of problems than solutions. If she keeps it that way, it will soon no longer be understandable for many people. Above all, it is no longer transparent.”
BILD: Please explain that in more detail.
Mintzlaff: “An example: The convalescent regulation is reduced to three months for the population, while it remains at six months in the Bundestag. Such decisions make people feel fooled. The federal government cannot paint the world as it likes it. This then ends in a zigzag course that people can no longer support. I therefore call for uniform and, above all, nationwide rules, because otherwise we can no longer use anything as a guide and trust in statements will dwindle even more. “
BILD: In Bavaria, 10,000 spectators are allowed again. Would that also be possible in Saxony?
Mintzlaff: “Absolutely. We demand that, at the latest when the Saxony cabinet meets again next week, a solution is presented that is at least based on Bavaria. We have presented resilient hygiene concepts that make it possible for the game to be guaranteed with absolute safety even with 20,000 spectators or even 50 percent occupancy. In addition, we have learned that it is not the incidences, but the hospitalization rate and hospital occupancy that are the decisive parameters for opening or easing. Let’s look at the hospitalization rate in Saxony. It is 3.16 and is lower than in Bavaria, the hospital situation is not tense. It would therefore be expected that there would be easing.”
BILD: Are you in contact with politics?
Mintzlaff: “Of course. We are in close and good contact with the local authorities and of course also with Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer. Mr. Kretschmer signaled to us that solutions are being worked on.”
BILD: BVB boss Aki Watzke (62) put the word lawsuit into his mouth. Is that also an issue for RB?
Mintzlaff: “I think Aki Watzke’s move is absolutely right, and we’ll also check with other Bundesliga clubs if we can’t find a quick solution here, whether and how we can take legal action. Because that is part of our corporate responsibility. We know that the pandemic has hit many in the country hard. Despite a minus of over 60 million euros in the past two years, we have had a lot of understanding for political decisions. But now the point is where every citizen, every entrepreneur and every Bundesliga club can expect pragmatic, logical and understandable decisions.
