News in brief ahead of #B04DSC: Minute's silence, mark of respect and no carnival music

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."

no carneval music

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.

Petersen refs #B04DSC

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 freely available

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.

Info on Werkself Radio

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.