This is a joint action of the German Football League (DFL) and the clubs. Head coach Gerardo Seoane spoke about developments in Eastern Europe at the pre-match press conference, clearly affected by the situation: "Of course, it's a subject of discussion in the dressing room for all the players and coaches plus the staff. Seeing images like that is a great shock to all of us. We condemn war in any form and are convinced that everything should be done to get back to the diplomatic path to find a solution without war."
Moreover, Bayer 04 has decided to show our feelings towards the war in Eastern Europe in and around the game. A number of entertainment elements will be dropped and no carnival music will be played. The club asks for your understanding.
Today's match against Arminia Bielefeld will be refereed by Martin Petersen. The 36-year-old was in charge of his first game in the Bundesliga in 2017. With the estate agent in charge, the Werkself have a record in the Bundesliga of one win, one draw and one defeat. The most recent Leverkusen match under Petersen was on 13 December 2020 and that ended in a 4-1 home win against TSG Hoffenheim.
The match official from Stuttgart will be assisted by Alexander Sather and Robert Kempter, Felix Zwayer is the VAR referee. Have a good game.
Werkself LIVE gives Black and Red fans the chance to get the most important information on the current matchday ahead of the kick-off against the team lying fourteenth in the table. The programme is available at the BayArena – alternatively it is also online. This season's new Bayer 04 matchday magazine provides interesting facts and stats on the game between the Werkself and the team from East Westphalia. On the back there is a poster of Paulinho. Click HERE for the e-paper.
Alternative Werkself Radio: As Niko Hartmann and Cedric Pick are unable to report on the match between the Werkself and Bielefeld at the BayArena due to illness, reporters from the Bayer 04 radio service for the visually impaired will commentate on the full 90 minutes. 22 years ago, Bayer 04 were pioneers in the Bundesliga and since then live reporting for all visually impaired Bayer 04 fans has been an essential part of every matchday.
Werkself TV shows the highlights of the 4-0 victory in the friendly match against KRC Genk...
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In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...
After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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