MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich will likely host Barcelona without spectators in the Champions League next week after the state governor said on Tuesday he will demand sports events in empty stadiums due to high coronavirus infection rates.
Bavaria governor Markus Söder said his state would block fans from attending games even if there isn’t an agreement to do it nationwide, ahead of talks later Tuesday between Germany’s states, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her designated successor, Olaf Scholz.
“It makes no sense to allow spectators again for the foreseeable future,” Söder told regional broadcaster Bayern 2. “If that doesn’t work on the federal level, we will do it for Bavaria alone.”
Söder didn’t give a timetable for his plan. Bayern’s next home game is against Barcelona on Dec. 8, with a Bundesliga home game against Mainz three days later. The measure would also affect the other top-division men’s soccer clubs in Bavaria, Augsburg and Greuther Fürth, and numerous teams in various sports.