German football league begins, This was how football was played post Covid lockdown

The German Bundesliga restarted on Saturday and gave a glimpse into what the Premier League and other top leagues may look like if they return.

This was the first elite football in over two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

So what did football in May 2020 – played behind closed doors and with some social distancing – look like?

• Teams arrived in several buses so players could socially distance on the journey to the game.

• Players and staff had all been quarantining in team hotels all week and are being tested for coronavirus regularly.
  As they left the buses they wore facemasks on their way into the ground.

• Other people attending the games, including the media, had their temperatures checked.

• Fans were banned from matches, with police patrolling to make sure no crowds gathered at the venues. Only 213 people were allowed into the ground – 98 on and around the pitch (like players, coaches and ball boys) and 115 in the stands (such as security, medics and media).

• Another 109 people (including security and VAR operators) were allowed just outside the stadium.

• Footballs were disinfected by ball boys before the game and again at half-time.

• There were 30 match balls, each of them disinfected by ball boys and left on special spots rather than handing them to players

• Substitutes and coaches wore masks and socially distanced on individual seats on the bench – or in some cases in the front rows of the empty stands behind the benches.

• Head coaches were allowed to go without a mask so they could shout instructions to their players.

• Substitutes took off their masks to warm up, and when players were replaced they were handed a mask before reaching the bench.

• With only a few dozen people making noise on the benches, television viewers could hear the players and managers talking, as well as the sound of the ball being kicked – and hitting the back of the net.

(With inputs from BBC Sports)

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