Revierderby postponed at short notice

An official statement from the German Football League (DFL), explained the background to the decision, stating that postponing the league was decided in the wake of recent fears about the spread of the Coronavirus within the clubs, and ruling that further infections could not be ruled out if the games were to go ahead.

Here is the statement in full:

Following ongoing developments throughout the day with regards to new Coronavirus infections and suspected cases within the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga’s presidential board has decided to postpone matchday 26 of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, due to begin today, at short notice. As originally planned, the board also still recommends that Monday’s membership meeting for professional clubs agrees to suspend play until 2nd April, i.e. until after the international break.

One of the reasons behind today’s decision is that there were suspected cases of Coronavirus at several clubs and within their squads and further infections could not be ruled out. Earlier in the day, the entire 1. FC Nürnberg squad became the second Bundesliga 2 club required to self-isolate by the local health authorities after Hannover 96.