Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and SV Werder Bremen in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019. Having been starved of action for two months due to the Covid-19 shutdown, German football fans must grudgingly and quickly adapt to a new reality, with all matches to be played without spectators to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. These fanless matches, called ‘ghost games’ in Germany, are virtually unknown in the Bundesliga. In other parts of Europe, however, such ghost games are not a rare occurrence, with most due to sanctions for crowd trouble. Yet German fans must now surrender an ingrained Saturday afternoon routine and watch the league restart from afar, knowing any attempt to get close to the team would be a violation of the league’s health regulations.

Source: Standard Digital May 15, 2020 08:15 UTC