Coronavirus measures update: RBL home games to remain behind closed doors
Update: Due to the new Coronavirus measures agreed on by the state government, RB Leipzig's home games against Bielefeld and Mainz 05 will take place behind closed doors
+++Update, 13th December+++
The new Coronavirus measures agreed on by the Free State of Saxony (to be implemented until 9th January 2022) continue to rule out spectators attending major events, which means that RB Leipzig’s home games against Arminina Bielefeld (18th December 2021) and 1. FSV Mainz 05 (8th January 2022) will take place behind closed doors.
+++As of 19th November+++
The cabinet of the Free State of Saxony decided on Friday, 19 November, to take measures to combat the high Coronavirus infection figures in Saxony.
The decision means that RB Leipzig will have to play at least the upcoming home games at the Red Bull Arena against Bayer Leverkusen (Sunday 28th November 2021, 17:30 CET), Manchester City (Tuesday 7th December 2021, 18:45 CET) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (Saturday 11th December, 15:30 CET) without spectators.
We hope to return to normality as soon as possible.
RB Leipzig statement on the new lockdown measures:
"The situation in Germany, and especially in Saxony, is serious. We are very concerned on account of the high infection figures and the high utilisation of hospital beds. Therefore, we accept and respect the new legal position, as we understand that everything must be done to stop the further increase of corona infections.
What we do not understand, however, is why the Government of Saxony allowed this situation to come about in the first place - the highest infection rate of all federal states, combined with the lowest vaccination rate, is proof that politicians in Saxony have not yet managed to implement sound concepts to effectively control the pandemic.
Those affected by this situation are not only the many hard-working people in the nursing professions and doctors' surgeries, clinics, hospitals and health offices, but also once again all working in events, who are once again being forced into economic difficulties through no fault of their own.
For RB Leipzig, the lockdown has several consequences. We will once again have to play without fans at the Red Bull Arena, something we had been hoping so much to be able to make a thing of the past. This doesn't make it any easier emotionally for the team, especially following the some fantastic footballing experiences recently. We are also sorry for our fans that we cannot welcome them to the stadium. Football without fans is simply a different game. Additionally, we now have a competitive disadvantage, being currently the only first division team that has to play its upcoming home games in an empty stadium.
Therefore, we can only hope that the new measures will quickly lead to a significant reduction in the R-value and allow us to return to more normality as soon as possible after this lengthy pandemic period."