Bundesliga: Clubs in Germany's top two divisions to undergo 'quarantine training camps' for last two matchdays

Berlin: The 36 clubs in Germany’s top two leagues will go into compulsory “quarantine training camps” for the last two match days of the Bundesliga season, the German Football League (DFL) announced Thursday, to ensure the fixture schedule is completed on time. Clubs in the first and second Bundesliga will go into camp from 12 May until the final weekend of the season on 23 May. With Germany currently in the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the DFL has tightened hygiene restrictions. The league has ordered clubs to fully isolate their squads for the last 10 days of the season to make sure it can be finished on time ahead of Euro 2020, which runs from 11 June-11 July. “The ‘quarantine training camps’ serve to additionally secure… match operations - especially taking into account the deadline pressure due to the UEFA EURO following the season,” said the DFL in a statement. The DFL has reacted after Bundesliga strugglers Hertha Berlin were ordered into a two-week quarantine last Thursday after several squad members tested positive for the coronavirus. There have also been several cases of clubs being quarantined in the second and third divisions. Before starting the isolation camps, players and coaches are to go into a “quasi-quarantine” from 3 May when squad members and staff will only be able to move between their homes and club grounds, “to reduce contact and minimise the risk of infection”. Bayern Munich, who are 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, are set to be confirmed as German champions for the ninth consecutive season this Saturday at Mainz.