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Barber will monitor return to action in Germany

Like the rest of the Premier League, Albion chief executive Paul Barber says he will be interested in how Germany’s Bundesliga manage their return to competitive action next week.

By Bruce Talbot • 09 May 2020

By Paul Hazlewood
Albion chief executive Paul Barber.

Fixtures in the top two divisions are due to resume on May 16 after getting government approval and although they will be played behind closed doors clubs will stage matches at their own grounds.

Barber said: “I know Germany has managed the Covid-19 pandemic differently to us and I understand they’ve had different results on infection and mortality rates and that it’s a much bigger country.

“The stadiums might be designed in a different way [to ours] but the stadiums I’ve been to in Germany are in built-up areas.

"I was in Dortmund last season and there’s a residential area opposite the stadium, the station is not far from the venue and that will be used in the next few weeks.

23:16

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Barber & Ashworth press conference

“In terms of where we play, I think it’s worth looking at again and worth retracing our steps a little bit. If this is such a big issue for a significant number of clubs - and in my opinion it is more than just the bottom six clubs which keeps being touted - it has to be looked at again.

“Otherwise we will have an impasse and it will create another delay and more difficulty and we don’t want that. We want to return to playing, we want to finish the season and do so when it’s safe and when it’s fair.”

Clubs will convene on Monday to discuss Project Restart and hope to re-start the season in mid-June.