Dortmund CEO calls for quick resumption to save football

Berlin (dpa) – Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke wants the Bundesliga to resume as soon as possible with games behind closed doors.

The German top flight has been suspended since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league hopes to restart in May under strict hygiene conditions but needs the government to give the green light, with a big political meeting on Thursday discussing the issue.

“If we don’t play for the next few months, the whole Bundesliga will go downhill. Then it will no longer exist in the form we have known it,” Watzke told Sky TV on Sunday.

“Of course I know many fans say there will be no atmosphere in the stadiums and that will also come across on TV. That’s absolutely clear.

“(But) this is about saving football.”

There are nine games left in the Bundesliga season. Playing them also means the clubs will unlock around 300 million euros (324 million dollars) in television money.

A long delay in the league restarting would mean some German clubs go bankrupt, Watzke said, adding that the 50+1 rule which prevents big investors dominating club boardrooms would then be at risk.

“Everyone knows that if there are insolvencies, the so-called ‘White Knights’ will also come and say we’ll give you money, but you have to make sure that 50+1 is got rid of,” he said. “You have to be careful that there are not developments in football that we will never be able to reverse.”

Watzke, like Germany’s labour minister, rejected suggestions players should wear masks when action resumes and said contact was unavoidable.

“Footballers have to go in for tackles. Even when the hairdressers reopen, there will be physical contact. They can reduce the risk with a mask. We can do it by isolating our players as much as possible and doing constant tests.”

The Dortmund chief also denied fans would congregate outside stadiums if games are played behind closed doors, risking a spread of the virus, and his view was mirrored by a leading supporter group.

“It would be completely insane to go to the stadiums,” Thomas Kessen from fan alliance Unsere Kurve told Sport1 TV.

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness thinks closed door games are the only option and therefore wants some games put on free-to-air television rather than subscription channels to compensate fans who cannot go to the stadiums.

“In principle, I consider ghost games to be questionable; but in view of the economic situation of some clubs, they are vital and necessary,” he told Kicker magazine.

“With Sky, unencrypted broadcasts are also possible…or public broadcasters should participate in a wider broadcasting of football in this exceptional situation and compensate Sky accordingly.”

Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich believes it would be a “positive sign for many people” when football starts again.

“Even if it can only be matches without spectators at first, people will be happy about this change,” he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.