DFL rejects Hoffenheim request for match postponement
Corona-stricken Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim saw their application for a postponement of this weekend's fixture officially rejected on Thursday.
The situation in Sinsheim over the international break could be described as especially dire. Die Kraichgauer entered full quarantine last Wednesday as the positive COVID cases among their players continued to accumulate. It was such that the Badeners became the first top-tier German footballing club to apply for a suspension of a first-league match this week.
The DFL nevertheless remained firm, issuing a decision today unequivocally rejecting the application. As of yet, no 2020/21 matches in the country's premier footballing division have been cancelled as a result of the pandemic. Barring something unforeseen, that state of affairs should hold through the weekend.
TSG sporting director Alexander Rosen took the news rather stoically. "We were aware of the rules and the statutes," Rosen said in a statement, "We [the 18 Bundesliga clubs] all made it known before the season that we all wished to proceed with the campaign, playing each other even under special circumstances. We stand by that as well."
Rosen emphasized that, while he was hopeful that a one-day-delay the upcoming fixture against Stuttgart might assist him in clearing more of his returning international players, he was not disappointed that the request ultimately wasn't granted.
"We accept this decision," Rosen noted, "The application was rejected with clear reference to the general rules. I personally find it a pity, but the decision is nothing more than a straightforward application of the general rules."