Bundesliga's Second League Receives Attention - City shuts down Osnabrück stadium, potentially ending the scheduled Schalke match.
The home match for VfL Osnabrück, a team in the second division's bottom, is likely to be called off against FC Schalke 04 this coming Saturday. This is due to issues with the roof structure in their stadium. The city's authorities in Lower Saxony have issued a temporary ban on using the soccer arena, as announced on Tuesday evening.
The club's managing director, Michael Welling, stated that they're doing everything possible to investigate different structural solutions and put them into action to ensure that the game against Schalke can be made up for as soon as possible, along with playing the remaining home game against Hertha BSC at Bremer Brücke. This last game is set to occur on May 19.
VfL has already notified the German Football League (DFL) and Schalke regarding this issue. The DFL will only make their decision on the cancellation after they've received and analyzed the written waiver. At the moment, the city has only given out a verbal ban on the usage of the stadium. After the DFL's decision, VfL aims to contact season ticket holders and those who have purchased tickets. All tickets currently remain valid.
The issues with the stadium were discovered during a routine inspection last week. There are issues with wooden beams within the venue, some of which are considered problematic and require immediate attention. Expert opinion states that using the Ostkurve for the two home matches without taking immediate action is impossible.
VfL Osnabrück is currently in the last position in the standings. They have three matches left before the end of the season, and with a seven-point gap to the relegation spots, they have a slim chance of avoiding relegation.
Table 2 - Bundesliga Club statement: [TBA]
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Source: www.stern.de
