Ghost games everywhere soon? Lindner calls for a rethink when it comes to audience numbers

FDP party leader Christian Lindner has spoken out in favor of reducing the number of fans in the Bundesliga stadiums.

“Even if I am a football fan: It is not possible in the sizes in which the stadiums are now occupied,” said the 42-year-old in the ARD-Talk show Anne Will.

While the encounter between RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen (1: 3) was played as a ghost game on Sunday evening, the Rhenish derby between 1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach (4: 1) took place in front of 50,000 spectators on Saturday. In Bavaria, the number of visitors allowed in the stadiums has already been greatly reduced.

In Baden-Württemberg, ghost games are also expected to come back soon. A final decision will probably be made on Tuesday.

VfB Stuttgart CEO Thomas Hitzlsperger warned against a “football lockdown”. “Ghost games are really dramatic for us,” said the former international in the SWRBroadcast “Sport BW” and called the financial situation “more and more precarious”.