Empty stadium for Bayern Munich vs FC Barcelona and remaining home games this year

More unpleasant news for Bayern Munich fans as the surge in COVID-19 cases has lead to ghost games in the Allianz Arena. Containing this devastating virus is vital and the Bavarian government has taken an important decision in that regard. The remaining football games this year will be played behind closed doors. In addition to the Champions League game against FC Barcelona, the Allianz Arena is set to host two Bundesliga fixtures before the end of the year:

The deafening silence of stadiums and recorded fan noise piped into broadcast will soon be back for Bayern’s home games. The deadly coronavirus continues to bother the world with variant after variant coming in wave after wave. With the Omicron scare and another rise in cases, Germany has taken several steps to fight the virus. Closing Christmas markets was a huge move and now banning crowds in stadiums happens to be the next.

“It’s a big blow to have to play in front of empty stands at the Allianz Arena again. Football is only half as nice without our fans in the stadium, not to mention the financial effects. We must of course accept the decision as it is, even though we’ve done everything we could for the health of our visitors at the Allianz Arena with the 2G+ rule and our hygiene concept,” said Jan-Christian Dreesen, the vice-chairman of Bayern.

Ghost games affect the sport in more ways than one. The atmosphere of the fixture is not the same for the players used to playing in front of massive crowds showing their support. The finances from matchday income is vital, which also takes a hit. This is especially true in a country like Germany, where clubs rely on stadium crowds more than TV deals for their income. We can only hope things get better as quickly as possible and this ban doesn’t have to be extended into the new year.