Why ‘ghost matches’ would be a horror story for German fans

MOST people are afraid of ghosts and in Germany, it is no different.
German champions: Bayern Munich celebrate a seventh straight Bundesliga title.German champions: Bayern Munich celebrate a seventh straight Bundesliga title.
German champions: Bayern Munich celebrate a seventh straight Bundesliga title.

In the sporting realm, it is nothing to do with ghoulish apparitions and everything to do with a word which few in England will probably be familiar with – Geisterspiele.

Translated from German, it means ‘ghost matches’ – games played behind closed doors.

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That is the scenario which will transpire on the continent when the game gets the green light to return.

It had been hoped that the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 would be the first major leagues to return on the European mainland on May 9, only for the German government to delay a decision on the league’s return until next Wednesday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel held a video summit with the heads of the federal states to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the country.

Despite the decision to put football’s comeback on hold, clubs are continuing their preparations for restart of the season later this month, with the German Football League (DFL) having already allowed players to return to training at their clubs, albeit while observing social-distancing restrictions.

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Confidence is abound at clubs that games will be staged at some point behind closed doors in May – with May 23 earmarked as a possible date.

Yet the fact remains that many supporters are unhappy with the prospect of matches taking place in empty stadiums.

Hannover-based journalist Florian Krebs, who works for Bild, Germany’s leading national tabloid, told The Yorkshire Post: “In Germany, we call it Geisterspiele – ghost matches.

“This is very clear as the only possibility. We all guess it will be the way for the rest of the year, perhaps until the Spring next year. It is a horror of an expectation.

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“There are many supporters – hardcore Ultra supporters – who don’t like the idea of ghost matches.

“There is a danger of demonstrations in front of the stadium and that’s something that politicians have to look very carefully at – when you might need police at the front of the stadium.”

Much like in England, many German clubs are grappling with a new financial reality following the shutdown of football, with Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke having warned the Bundesliga “will go under” if the season does not resume in the next few months.

Germany’s top clubs want the league to be finished by June 30 to free up an instalment of television money worth around 300 million euros, while respected football magazine Kicker claims that 13 of the 36 clubs in the top two leagues are on the verge of insolvency.

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Several clubs, including Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 have admitted their finances have been badly affected by the crisis.

Securing an agreement with rights holder Sky and all but one broadcaster for payments for the rest of the 2019-2020 season has at least keep clubs afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic – for the time being.

Go further down the leagues, there is not just a fear, but growing expectation, that some unfortunate clubs will go bust.

Krebs continued: “It is very difficult. I am sure many clubs won’t survive this.

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“In the whole of Germany, there are a lot of ideas and solutions to help the clubs.

“For example, a little club in the fourth league called Havelse made a ‘Corona match’ and sold tickets – and 2,500 (people) paid for the tickets and it was a virtual match. But of course, nobody went to the stadium.

“A lot of big clubs are struggling. For example, Schalke had many, many millions before Corona and now they have big financial problems.

“There is one hope for all the (Bundesliga) clubs after long and hard negotiations with pay TV, who will pay the last tranche of money (for 19-20).

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“For Hannover, it is around about three to four million and with this money, all the clubs will survive for the rest of the season.

“Before the negotiations came to an end, there was a danger that clubs – especially Schalke – would not survive.

“But now they seem to have solved the problem for a few weeks.”

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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