Rangers’ meeting with
Bayer Leverkusen in Germany in the last 16 of the
Europa League could be played behind closed doors if cases of coronavirus continue to multiply in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, home of the
Bundesliga club. The state’s first patient was admitted to hospital on Monday, with 14 cases confirmed by Thursday night.
Bayer’s trip to RB Leipzig on Sunday will go ahead as scheduled, with the precaution that players, backroom staff and match officials will not observe the custom of handshakes before and after matches. The Bundesliga card has not yet been disrupted and Tim Meyer, the national team doctor, said on the German FA’s website that postponing matches or playing them behind closed doors would be premature at the moment, but could not be ruled out by the time Rangers are scheduled to play in Leverkusen on March 19.
“At present, this remedy would probably be excessive in our country,” Meyer said. “The cases are known and ‘under control’ in Germany.” However, he added that “no one can seriously predict what the situation will be in a week or two.”
North Rhine-Westphalia has seen coronavirus cases multiply this week and the BayArena could end up on lockdown
www.telegraph.co.uk