No more Corona cases at 1. FC Koln – what that means for the Bundesliga
At 1. FC Köln, no other player has tested positive for the corona virus. As the Bundesliga team announced on Monday, all the tests carried out on the previous day were negative for the team as well as for the coaching and supervisory staff.
After positive results from two professionals and a supervisor, doubts arose about the Bundesliga ghost game plan to continue the season. All three infected are in quarantine. On Monday afternoon, head coach Markus Gisdol’s team will train again in groups.
Former top official Wolfgang Holzhäuser does not consider the plan to resume the Bundesliga with ghost games as a result of the three coronavirus cases at 1. FC Köln. “I see it in a similar way to 1. FC Köln. Namely, that the three cases were ultimately discovered because nationwide tests were used, ”said the former managing director of Bayer Leverkusen to the German press agency.
Confirmation of the DFL security concept?
If you test across the board and subject the participants to tests every three days, the chance of discovering an infected person and isolating them is greater. “I therefore think it is a confirmation of the concept of the German Football League,” said Holzhäuser. In the Rhineland region, three people had recently tested positive for the corona virus and had to go to quarantine for 14 days.
At the conference of prime ministers with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, the DFL is hoping for the decision to be able to continue the Bundesliga season without a spectator in May.
NRW Interior Minister Reul remains optimistic
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul has reaffirmed his positive attitude towards possible ghost games in the soccer Bundesliga in the coronavirus crisis. From the perspective of the CDU politician, the plan of the German Football League has to prove itself in reality. “The concept is conclusive, you only know whether it will work afterwards,” said Reul at “Radiowelt” on Bayern 2 on Monday. “You can calculate the risk and, on the other hand, everyone involved must also know if there are problems that such a story can be broken off again.”
The DFL hopes to continue the currently interrupted season with ghost games and has presented a concept for hygiene and safety. “If you keep people practically isolated, permanently tested, it can be, but I don’t know yet,” said Reul about the chances of success.
The politician said of the trio that had tested positive and had to be quarantined for 14 days while the rest of the team continued to train in groups: “Yes, that’s the same with other people. Not all of them are put in quarantine, but those who have been verified. ”
From the perspective of the NRW Minister of the Interior, the “most difficult question” is what will happen in the event of fan outcry in front of stadiums and in cities. “This will be a major challenge for the police because there will be clusters not just in one place, but in several places,” said Reul. “We will certainly need a number of police officers there too.”
Is a quick resumption “naive”?
But there are also critical voices. There is primarily debate about the quarantine rule for football professionals. In addition, Cologne midfielder Birger Verstraete was the first player to publicly express concerns and fears. The 26-year-old Belgian considers a quick resumption of the season to be “naive”.
Tim Meyer, head of the task force of the German Football League, admitted at the weekend that the hygiene concept of the DFL was still vulnerable. “If there are too many positive cases, this system can certainly falter. That’s not a question at all, ”said the national team doctor at Sport1. That is why “extreme discipline” of everyone involved is also important off the field.
After “kicker” research, the first tests for the corona virus were negative for at least 14 Bundesliga clubs. After the known positive results in Cologne, the situation was “only opaque at three locations”, wrote the “kicker” on Sunday evening. The results at FC Augsburg are not yet known; According to this, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig “do not want to announce any interim results between the test series or only express themselves on a weekly basis,” it said.
“Some positive cases expected in Bundesliga tests”
Since almost 2,000 people had been tested in the Bundesliga, “some positive cases were expected,” said Meyer: “I do not want to rule out that there are more.” Of course, it is also possible that players who initially tested negative “subsequently become positive . That is also one of the reasons why we test repeatedly. ”When entering team training as planned, only two negatively tested players may take part. According to Meyer, “there is no one-hundred percent system, and that was not a realistic goal”.
At 1. FC Köln, two players and a manager had tested positive. The trio had been sent to quarantine in coordination with the responsible health authority. The rest of the team continues the training in small groups as before. This is also intended in the medical concept of the DFL for the restart of the Bundesliga. “The so-called domestic segregation is only intended for category 1 people. Not us, but the health authority evaluates who this applies to, ”said Cologne team doctor Paul Klein.
1. FC Köln plans “quarantine-like training camp”
On Sunday evening, the FC announced that if the season continues, they plan to move to a “quarantine-like training camp”. “1. FC Köln will voluntarily complete a possible entry into team training under the conditions of a training camp,” said the club. The “Bild” had previously reported on the plans. In addition to hotels, the Rhinelanders had also blocked the Hennef sports school southeast of Siegburg.
Hoping to get approval for the start of the league in May this Wednesday after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conference with the Prime Ministers this Wednesday, the Bundesliga clubs had started corona tests of all players and coaches on Thursday. “We now see in everyday life that our concept recognizes and reduces risks at an early stage,” emphasized Meyer.
Birger Verstraetes role backwards at 1. FC Köln
“To be honest, I found it a bit bizarre,” Belgian midfielder Verstraete told VTM when asked why he wasn’t in quarantine. “The physiotherapist is the man who treated me and other players for weeks. And I formed a duo with one of the two players in question in the gym on Thursday, ”said Verstraete in the interview about which“ Het Laatste Nieuws ”reported.
