Champions League: RB Leipzig vs Man City to be played behind closed doors post COVID scare

Taking to an official release, Manchester City have confirmed that their Champions League trip to the Red Bull Arena on December 7 against RB Leipzig will be played behind closed doors following the local administration in the state of Saxony announcing partial lockdown in Leipzig due to an increase in COVID-19 rates in the country. 

"A rise in COVID-19 rates has seen regional authorities place Saxony into a partial lockdown. This means that RB Leipzig’s UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City on Tuesday 7th December at the Red Bull Arena will now be played behind closed doors, without supporters in attendance. Manchester City supporters who had purchased a ticket for this match will receive a full ticket refund. The Club will contact impacted supporters in the coming days to confirm that the refund has been processed." the official club statement read. 

Apart from the RB Leipzig vs Man City game, the former's Bundesliga games against Leverkusen on November 28, and Moenchengladbach on December 11 will also be played behind closed doors, with the state government in Saxony announcing measures including that of spectator bans at sports venues until December 12 given a rapacious rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, and especially in Saxony.  

Clubs face uncertainty over fans at the stadium amid constantly changing rules 

Meanwhile, Bundesliga clubs in other regions too could soon be ordered to play behind closed doors. As things stand, different regions are being imposed with different rules, leaving many clubs uncertain due to the constantly changing rules.

The southern German state of Bavaria is likely to pass new orders on Tuesday, and as per reports in Germany, clubs in that region including the likes of Bayern Munich will be permitted to allow fans only 25% capacity.

States like Northern-Rhine-Westphalia have been allowing only fully vaccinated fans to attend the games and are likely to continue to follow that. So far, there has been no clear cut communication from the Bundesliga and clubs are waiting to learn the exact guidelines and rules enforced. 

Image: Twitter/Bundesliga_EN