Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara has hit out at the DFL after they refused to suspend this weekend’s Bundesliga matches.
While the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga have all announced immediate suspensions, Germany’s top flight will stage matches behind closed doors.
It’s expected that a suspension will arrive but it won’t be in place until March 17.
So five Bundesliga games will take place in front of empty stands on Saturday, including the Revierderby clash between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke and Bayern Munich’s game against Union Derby.
And Thiago has called on the DFL to “land on reality” as games in Germany continue to go ahead.
Thiago Alcantara's tweet:
“This is crazy. Please stop fooling around and land on reality,” the Spaniard wrote on Twitter.
“Let's be honest, there are much more important priorities than any sport.”
He’s right.
And if German football’s governing body plans to suspend matches from next week onwards, there seems little point in playing any fixtures before then.
One Bundesliga game will take place on Friday - Fortuna Dusseldorf’s game against Paderborn - and two more on Sunday.
UEFA has already announced that next week’s Champions League and Europa League games will be suspended, meaning Bayern Munich’s last-16 second leg against Chelsea won’t go ahead until a new date can be identified.
"In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed," a UEFA statement read.
"This includes the remaining UEFA Champions League, Round of 16 second leg matches scheduled on 17 and 18 March 2020; all UEFA Europa League, Round of 16 second leg matches scheduled on 19 March 2020; all UEFA Youth League, quarter-final matches scheduled on 17 and 18 March 2020.
"Further decisions on when these matches take place will be communicated in due course."