Bundesliga paves the way for the resumption of football: 11 observations ahead of England’s “Project Restart”

As the English Premier League prepares for its own restart on 17 June, we set out eleven observations from the Bundesliga in Germany, which restarted on 16 May and has since had seven rounds of league matches and one cup round.

1. An Ongoing Public Debate: The Bundesliga restart was mainly attributed to the CEO of the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), Christian Seifert, who was the driving force behind the restart and its hygiene concept. Back in May, there was a large amount of criticism from the wider public about the restart, primarily because many felt that, while their own livelihoods were being locked down, the Bundesliga was seen to have a privileged status. Many also queried whether it was simply too risky. Opinion polls suggest that the scepticism continues with roughly 50% of those asked opposing the restart, including some supporter groups. However, the restart has widely been deemed to be a success, giving the Bundesliga a more polished image and an unparalleled access to the global market.
2. Hygiene Concept: The DFL together with the German Football Association (DFB) had set up a task force which drew up a detailed “hygiene concept” in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The concept consists of various measures, including a face mask obligation and a minimum distance requirement off the pitch, regular tests and limited access to matches. In the event of an infection, the player concerned will be isolated immediately after consulting the health authorities, which will ultimately determine the necessary measures to be taken with regard to his contact persons. Violations of the hygiene concept can be punished by the DFL with warnings, fines or even a red card in the form of a licence revocation. A fine of €10,000 has already been imposed on two players for violating the hygiene concept during a visit to the hairdresser.
3. Testing: An integral part of the hygiene concept is that all relevant individuals (players, coaches, etc.) must undergo and - continue to undergo - thorough testing. The tests are carried out twice a week and always one day before a match. While the DFL originally expected to perform 20,000 tests, the number has now been revised to up to 35,000 tests. One reason for this is that players’ family members are also being tested voluntarily.
4. No Spectators, Limited Stadium Attendance: As part of the hygiene concept, the only people allowed in the stadium are players, referees, other team officials, ballboys/girls, TV production personnel, limited journalists, photographers and security services. They are allocated to three zones, each of which may be occupied by a maximum of 100 persons at a time: the interior, the stand and the exterior. Even Germany’s national team coach, Joachim Löw, has not been permitted to attend any of the games. This is unlikely to change in the near future. While the number of admissions of media representatives has recently been increased by the DFL, and some are calling for a return of small numbers of fans returning to the stadiums, major changes to the basic restrictions currently in place seem fanciful.
5. 30 June and Player Contracts: The 2019-20 season officially ends on 30 June. Accordingly, there are several player contracts which will expire on 30 June. It is customary for a contract to be fixed term and expiring at the end of the particular season. The Bundesliga and national DFB association have been keen to complete the domestic season, including the DFB cup competition, before the end of June 2020. This would enable them to circumvent the unfortunate issue of a season continuing while some players’ contracts have expired, thereby deferring having to deal with the consequential issue of potential transfers until the end of the current season. The German leagues’ relegation/promotion play-offs are scheduled for July, though, and we expect contracts to be extended for a short period to cover those matches, if required.
6. Sponsorship: One of the key drivers in completing the season on time is to ensure that existing sponsorship deals, including television coverage, are honoured. There are no signs that the lockdown led to the premature termination of sponsorship contracts, but it is very likely that sponsors will be less willing to spend big on football in the future. Some sponsors are now facing financial difficulties themselves. Nevertheless, the situation may lead to PR opportunities for some new sponsors. Many fans consider the sponsors to have a duty to support the clubs financially during the crisis and appreciate their willingness to do so. Experts therefore suspect that the motivation of sponsorship could change. While success has been the focus of sponsorship up to now, solidarity, trust and social responsibility could also play an important role going forward.
7. Salary Waivers: During the lockdown, players of all Bundesliga clubs had agreed to waive part of their salaries (generally 10–20%) to safeguard wider jobs at their respective clubs (and presumably also for PR reasons). Bayern Munich, for example, is said to be saving about €3.5 million per month through temporary salary cuts. These salary waivers mainly apply until the end of June, but players at some clubs have agreed to waive parts of their salary until the ‘end of the 2019/20 season’. It will be interesting to see how players react to their clubs investing in new players over the summer, spending money that the club had told their own players they needed to save. There may be a paradox situation of a player who had agreed to a salary waiver being replaced by a new signing who is on higher wages. The clubs are also relying on the goodwill of their fans. Season ticket holders are being encouraged to waive their right to refunds for games they cannot attend.
8. Performance Levels: There has been widespread speculation as to whether matches without spectators would lead to a drop in performance levels. From a layperson's perspective, the games would appear to have the same pace and standard as previously. So far, there are no official statistics to bear this out. Instead, there have been examples of superior athletic performance, including running statistics. On average, both the number of kilometres run per game and the number of sprints has increased significantly.
9. Home Side Advantage No Longer Applies: One of football’s many unwritten rules is that the home side generally has an advantage. As experts had predicted, without spectators, this advantage has been eroded. Since the restart in Germany, around 20-25% of the matches have been won by the home team. Before the lockdown, it was 43%.
10. Referee Performance: Without the frequent intense pressure from spectators on referees, there appears to have been not only less obvious haranguing of officials by players, but also a more polished referee performance. The number of yellow cards and fouls has also increased, perhaps because the referees are able to hear and concentrate better, in the absence of crowd noise.
11. Atmosphere and Viewing Experience: German television has until now not introduced artificial spectator sounds. Instead, the TV audience is treated to the sound of players shouting instructions to each other and viewers can actually hear the sound of the ball being kicked and headed. It remains to be seen whether the all-around television experience will eventually become more polished and include spectator sound and alternative camera angles to avoid highlighting the empty seats.

The Bundesliga has paved the way for other domestic leagues to learn from its so far successful hygiene concept and restart. It remains to be seen whether the Bundesliga can complete its season without any bumps, and whether other leagues in countries where infection rates were, and are, higher will be similarly successful.

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