No fans to attend TSG's home game against Hertha BSC

"The health of the spectators is our utmost priority, and this was the point of departure for all the talks and decisions that have taken place over the last few hours," said TSG managing director Frank Briel. "We naturally regret this measure, but we believe it to be unavoidable. As a football club in the Bundesliga, we have a wide reach and, especially in a crisis situation like this, we must assume responsibility and act as a role model," he added.

It is a view that is supported by Jürgen Wiesbeck. The President of the German Red Cross (DRK) District Association for Rhine-Neckar/Heidelberg and the Head of the DRK Operations for the State Association of Baden-Württemberg believes there is more to it than the recommendation from the health ministers at federal and state level to cancel events with more than 1,000 visitors on an ongoing basis. "We have to do everything humanly possible to prevent our health system from becoming paralysed. There are already constraints in clinics and for the emergency services," warned Wiesbeck, who is not expecting "infections to reach a high point until May". "So this is just the beginning. That makes it all the more important to avoid contact and thus to prematurely introduce the appropriate measures to prevent the spread, slow down the progression and thus give the health system the chance to react to this new virus." It won't work if "there is a reaction on a small scale but major events are still allowed to go ahead".

As a result, the only people permitted to enter the arena on Saturday will be the personnel required to organise a Bundesliga match. Nationwide reporting of the match is guaranteed by rights-holder with an audio-visual broadcasting license from the German Football League (DFL). Even prior to the decision to play the match behind closed doors, TSG Hoffenheim had cancelled all open training sessions until further notice.

The DFL has so far ruled out cancelling Bundesliga matches completely or suspending the season and shall defer to the responsible health authorities when it comes to making individual decisions about whether the games can take place. "We're very sorry for our fans and our partners. We'll keep everyone up to date about the latest developments. We know that there's a lot of understanding for the measures that have been coordinated and implemented," said TSG managing director Dr. Peter Görlich, who believes that "the financial impact on the clubs cannot play a role when it comes to making a responsible decision". And concrete information on this can only be determined "once the scope of restrictions to match operations becomes foreseeable," Görlich explained.

It goes without saying that the fans who are already in possession of a ticket for the match against Hertha BSC will be refunded. Please take the following points into consideration.

1. Purchased match tickets can be returned where they were purchased (please also refer to Point 2 regarding the topic of the Online Shop). If you bought tickets by purchase order or you acquired the tickets from an advance booking point, please use the processing form.
2. Ticket orders in the Online Shop will be reimbursed automatically over the next two to three weeks. Customers do not have to do anything about this themselves. TSG shall transfer the amount (minus possible shipping fees) back via the method of payment used for the purchase.
3. Tickets purchased for the away sector (Block G1/G2, Block H1/H2) may be returned via the away club Hertha BSC.
4. Customers who purchased their ticket via CTS Eventim are asked to please contact the relevant advance booking point. In the case of an online purchase via CTS Eventim, please contact the customer service online at https://www.eventim.de. 
5. If you are in possession of a season ticket for the TSG Hoffenheim Bundesliga matches, then please note: due to the difficulties with planning at present (number of affected matches), season ticket holders will receive detailed information on the reimbursement process at the end of the current season.

The decision to play a home game behind closed doors currently only applies to this fixture. Should fans not be allowed at further TSG home games, we will inform you in good time via our online channels. Furthermore, TSG's away match against SC Paderborn (Saturday 21 March at 15:30 CET) is set to be played behind closed doors too.

The TSG Fan House and the TSG FAN SHOP at the PreZero Arena shall remain closed on Saturday. However, the FAN SHOP can be accessed online at shop.achtzehn99.de.

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