A crowd of 800 was allowed to watch the 3-1 win over Dueren in the German volleyball play-offs.

“It is simply another game, it makes a lot more fun,” said Berlin attacker Benjamin Patch while even Tim Broshog of defeated Dueren agreed: “That was a bit unusual but it’s more inspiring. It was simply great.”

The combination of a hygiene concept – which included a ban on singing – and testing allowed the fans to enter.

“The system worked, everything went to play,” said Volleys manager Kaweh Niroomand. “We didn’t have any gaps in the test process and no positive cases.”

Niroomand dismissed criticism of the project while Germany is experiencing a surge in infections.

“All the tickets were snapped up quickly,” he said. “This illustrates people’s longing for a bit of normalcy in life.”

The Rostock Seawolves, a second-tier basketball team, meanwhile want to have 450 fans attending their April 10 match against Science City Jena – around 10 per cent of their arena’s capacity.

But the risk of infections around sport remains present with the handball Bundesliga match between Hanover-Burgdorf and the Ludwigshafen Owls being postponed at short-notice after a Hanover player tested positive.