BERLIN, March 5. (DPA/EP) –
The clubs of the German Football Bundesliga (DFL) took advantage of this Saturday’s games to express their solidarity with Ukraine after the Russian invasion of the country.
Leader Bayern Munich displayed the Ukrainian national colours, blue and yellow, on the Allianz Arena screens ahead of their match against Bayer Leverkusen and also donned the corner pennants in the colors of the Central European country.
“It is very difficult to concentrate on football with the horrible images of this war that we see every day,” said Bayern chairman Oliver Kahn.
A large banner covering the center circle of the field was also unfurled with the slogan “Stop the war!” and the players entered the field of play with blue and yellow jackets that they wore during a minute of silence for the victims. The referees at the Allianz Arena wore blue and yellow armbands, and the Bundesliga’s DFL logo on television also had the Ukrainian national colours.
In Wolfsburg, the center circle became a peace sign, while the home team wore shirts with the same sign instead of the logo of their sponsor Volkswagen. The slogans on the billboards called for peace, just like in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where they were yellow and blue with the word peace in various languages. Fans also joined in the show of solidarity with banners bearing pacifist slogans.
On matchday 25 of the championship, Bayern drew 1-1 with third-placed Leverkusen and is nine points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. The Dortmund match that was scheduled for Sunday was postponed due to the numerous cases of coronavirus in the ranks of the rival Mainz.