BERLIN (Xinhua) -- German football faces serious issues due to rising COVID-19 infection numbers. Most clubs fear games behind closed doors could return while current rules increase difficulties to run games.
While the so-called fourth wave is sweeping through the country, the federal states differing rules lead to patchwork-like measures.
Federal states with the highest numbers, such as the state of Saxony, abandoned amateur games.
Northern-Rhine-Westphalia allows only vaccinated or recovered fans to attend the games. In Bavaria, most amateur leagues have started their winter break; others continue.
Other sports such as handball, ice hockey, and basketball clubs have to follow different rules depending on their state rules.
Clubs of different sports have to adjust their hygiene concepts nearly every week due to state rules. An increasing number of sports follow the 2-G rule.
For 2021 World Championships in Handball, which run from December 2 to 19 in Spain, only 2-G athletes are allowed.
In many states, clubs remain uncertain due to constantly changing rules.
Upcoming games can’t be planed; as new rules might be implemented when infection numbers keep growing.
For Thursday federal state governments and the German federal government are expected to implement new rules to break the fourth wave.
Aside from amateur sports, professional football is facing difficulties. The Bavarian state premier Markus Soder demanded to make vaccination for professional footballers compulsory.
To demand vaccinations from employees to some extend is colliding with German working rules. So far, it isn’t allowed to investigate employees’ vaccination status.