He would have very much liked "to have a common approach for the start of the federal league by the end of october," spahn said at an appearance with the chairwoman of the state health ministers, berlin’s senator dilek kalayci (SPD), in berlin. This also applies against the background that corresponding decisions of the 16 minister presidents with chancellor angela merkel (CDU) are less than two weeks old.
Professional soccer, however, had not waited for an all-german regulation on the return of spectators. With the admission of up to 4500 fans, bundesligist 1. FC union berlin this saturday in the test against the 1. FC nurnberg the next signal of the industry’s growing will to end ghost games. Most recently, bundesliga team RB leipzig received permission to play its first home game against FSV mainz 05 in mid-september in front of up to 8500 spectators. Hertha BSC will then play against eintracht frankfurt in front of around 4000 fans in berlin’s olympiastadion.
Spahn now stressed that a coordinated approach would make sense. "I think for acceptance as a whole, a uniform approach would be better."At the same time, the situation is the way it is. Local authorities would decide on their own responsibility. He hopes that everyone is aware – authorities and clubs alike – "that there is a great responsibility to ensure that the risks of infection are minimized in the process. If this succeeds, it can also serve as an example for other areas."The preliminary work of the german soccer league for a return of the spectators is good, spahn again praised. He has always said: "the decisive factor is on the field, not on paper."
When asked whether this also applied to concerts, for example, spahn replied that a better balance had to be found every day between infection control, health protection, risk avoidance and everyday life. "The question of whether a large event has 500 or 1500 spectators is not a question of truth, but of balancing" between risks, everyday life, and economic and public interests. That’s why it’s good when concepts are tested in practice. The authorities on the ground must always make their decisions dependent on the respective pandemic situation.