The decision has been made: the Bundesliga game between 1. FC Köln and TSG Hoffenheim will not be rescheduled, but kicked off as planned on Sunday evening (7:30 p.m.).
After Cologne’s Europa League game at FC Slovacko had to be postponed to Friday afternoon due to thick fog, the billy goats hoped that the subsequent Bundesliga duel with TSG Hoffenheim could be postponed. The Kraichgauers were open to it: “We are in contact with the people of Cologne and the DFL. 1. FC Köln got into this ’emergency situation’ through no fault of their own, no question. We want the competition to be fair – that’s why we are cooperative and understand,” emphasized André Breitenreiter on Friday afternoon.
The DFL, on the other hand, was not as cooperative as Hoffenheim and decided that the game would take place on Sunday evening as planned. “A lot of people tried to get the game to be postponed. But it won’t be,” confirmed Steffen Baumgart after the game at Slovacko, which Effzeh won 1-0 thanks to a penalty converted by Ondrej Duda. “When the game is over, we’ll see whether it will be a disadvantage that we play again on Sunday.”
“At some point some clever people decided that it was enough if there were 48 hours between two games,” Baumgart explained why the game was not postponed. “We’ll see who the freshest guys are on Sunday.”
But Baumgart didn’t want to look for an excuse. The Effzeh coach emphasized that against Hoffenheim “everything will be knocked out again”. “I’m proud of my boys, what they’re doing,” he said. “I hope everyone can see what this team is doing under the circumstances that are currently with us.”
The problem is not just the tight schedule, but also the tight staffing levels. Linton Maina was injured against Slovacko and “maybe” will be out for a longer time, according to Baumgart. “It wasn’t just a foul on him, it was almost an attack. It was a very rough attack.” Even with Ellyes Skhiri, he cannot yet say what it looks like with a mission on Sunday.
This article was originally posted on 90min.com/de as No match transfer: Cologne vs. Hoffenheim will take place on Sunday! released.
