Bundesliga season to restart on 16 May

The Bundesliga season will restart on Saturday 16 May, making it the first major European league to resume amid the coronavirus epidemic.

Schedule for return

Saturday

Dortmund-Schalke
Leipzig-Freiburg
Hoffenheim-Hertha
Fortuna-Paderborn
Augsburg-Wolfsburg

(18:30)

Frankfurt-Gladbach

Sunday

Cologne-Mainz
Union-Bayern

Monday

Bremen-Leverkusen

The DFL said the campaign would resume under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from attending games.

The DFL is desperate to finish the season by 30 June to be contractually in compliance with sponsors and broadcasters. It had warned any further delay could be “existence-threatening” for some clubs.

“We are now looking forward to resuming play … this ensures that the sporting decisions are made on the pitch and not in the boardroom,” Rummenigge said. “I would like to expressly thank the DFL and the medicine task force for the excellent organisational and medical plans. I appeal to everyone involved to follow the guidelines in these plans, which are the basis for resuming play, in an exemplary and disciplined manner,” Bayern Munich’s chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

The DFL said that there had been 10 positive tests for coronavirus among the top two tiers, adding that 1,724 tests were carried out over two rounds among players and staff. Last Friday Cologne reported three positive cases.

Salomon Kalou has been suspended “with immediate effect” by his club Hertha Berlin after posting a video on Facebook of him breaking physical distancing rules with his teammates.

“Many industries are now slowly starting up again in compliance with strict rules, and this applies to professional football too, In this context, we at Borussia Dortmund are aware we have a great responsibility. We will – in the knowledge there can be no guarantees – do everything in our power to ensure the highest possible degree of safety in order to prevent any new infections among the players and their families,” said Dortmund’s chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Domestic matches in both Croatia and Serbia are set to resume on 30 May behind closed doors, subject to government approval.