Football is back - but not as we know it.The coronavirus pandemic has chewed up the beautiful game and spat out a version we’re not familiar with.No fans inside the stadium, no team celebrations and socially distanced substitutes bench.It’s all a bit weird.As each country slowly returns to action, we’ll see different variations of how they’re attempting to combat the virus and play football at the same time.Over in South Korea’s K-League, they’ve found a pretty interesting way to build some sort of atmosphere into their empty stadiums.Many teams are pumping noise into the stadiums.Meanwhile, FC Seoul have a pretty unique idea by using life-sized female dolls in the stands. They’re even applying social distancing rules by sitting two metres apart.
Why? We really couldn’t tell you…
Many fans believe that an adult shop have supplied these sex dolls with some of them holding sponsorship signs for the shop in question.
We cannot possibly comment.
Football behind closed doors is something we’re just going to have to get used to.
To explain just how strange it was, BBC journalist Constantin Eckner - who attended Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday evening - explained just what it was like to be inside the empty stadium.
"As an observer, you got used to the eerie silence. The instructions by the coaches and players echoed around the empty stadium," he said.
"When one M'Gladbach defender screamed 'Jonas' twice, he demanded midfielder Jonas Hofmann to come closer to him. When Frankfurt head coach Adi Hutter shouted 'play' across the field, he was annoyed that one of his players held on to the ball for too long. Successful tackles or dribbles were accompanied by smattering applause from the bench and the first few rows of the stands where the bench players were sitting.
"This kind of sterile football is isolated from any outside emotion. Fans do not only scream and cheer throughout the match, but they also react to success and failure. Behind closed doors, the matches feel less consequential despite the outcome of the season still being at stake."