German Bundesliga resumes today after two months of lockdown

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After two months of inactivity, German top-flight league, the Bundesliga, will resume this afternoon. The sudden break in the Bundesliga was as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, which has killed thousands of people and affected sporting activities and business across the globe.

The excitement will return this afternoon following lockdown being lifted in Germany. But the fans will have to watch behind closed-door matches from the comfort of their own homes.

However, the head coach of Augsburg, Heiko Herrlich, will miss the Bundesliga restart today after breaching quarantine rules by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.

Herrlich, whose side face Wolfsburg today, told a news conference on Thursday that he had visited a shop, breaking league rules.Teams preparing for the German league to restart today have been staying in quarantine.

“I made a mistake by leaving the hotel,” he said in a statement later. Herrlich, 48, was appointed on March 10 and the home match with Wolfsburg was set to be his first in charge.

“Even though I have followed all hygiene measures both when leaving the hotel and otherwise, I cannot undo this,” he said. “In this situation, I was not able to act as a role model for my team and the public.

“I will therefore be consistent and stand by my mistake. Because of this misconduct, I will not be leading the training [yesterday] and will not be in charge of the team against Wolfsburg on Saturday (today).”

Speaking at a video news conference earlier, he had said: “I have no toothpaste and then I went to a supermarket.”The club said players and staff are being regularly tested for coronavirus and Herrlich will be able to resume training after two negative test results.Augsburg are 14th in the Bundesliga, five points above the relegation zone.