News in brief: Rolfes on BILD LIVE

Black and Red talk at the breakfast table: Simon Rolfes is a guest on the 'Lage der Liga' TV programme on Sunday morning at 9 o'clock, where he will discuss current events in the league as well as the Werkself match against FCA. The show will be broadcast on TV channel BILD LIVE.

Werkself LIVE –  online now

Werkself LIVE is again available for the match against FC Augsburg. The free online magazine is available to read now. This season's revamped Bayer 04 matchday magazine provides interesting facts and figures on the fixture between the Werkself and FCA. HERE is the epaper.

Schlager in charge

Daniel Schlager is the referee for today's match at the BayArena. The 32-year-old has refereed five Leverkusen matches to date – the last one was at the end of November against VfL Bochum (1-0). With Schlager in charge, the Black and Reds have clocked up two wins, one draw and two defeats. The banker has refereed 39 Bundesliga matches so far. He became a FIFA referee at the start of the year.

His assistants in today's match are Sven Waschitzki and Arno Blos, Benjamin Brand is the VAR referee.

womens Bundesliga: 'Professionalisation' in place of breakaway

The Women's Bundesliga will continue to be part of the German Football Association and will not be separated from the association. That was announced by the DFB on Friday. The starting point for discussions about a possible breakaway in March came with an application for the independence of the FFBL from the Rhineland Football Association (FDR). The DFB shares the aims of the application according to Holger Blask, spokesperson for the DFB management board, but that is not seen as the right way to achieve that, continued Blask.

Instead, an amendment will be put with sustainable measures to promote professionalisation, strengthening as well as increased visibility of the two Women's Bundesliga divisions under the umbrella of the Association. In addition, the aim is to achieve the continuous development of structures, sustainable investment from the licensing body and economic stability.

Top leagues: call for Fans return

German professional sport is asking for more spectators to be allowed into stadiums and arenas – in accordance with the regional state of the pandemic. This request comes from a group of the four most important German professional leagues (basketball, ice hockey, handball and football) with a communication to the Federal Chancellery and the state Minister Presidents. Donata Hopfen, CEO of the German Football League (DFL), is quoted as follows: "To find a way of living with the virus, we suggest a return to localised and differentiated protocols – and departure from blanket bans and reductions. During the coronavirus crisis, the clubs have shown that they have acted responsibly." The next meeting of the Minister Presidents and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be held on 24 January.

The first Werkself home game of 2022 (the 2-2 draw against Union Berlin) was played behind closed doors. A limit of 750 spectators has been set for today's Bundesliga match at the BayArena against FC Augsburg (kick-off: 15.30 CET).

04 birthday boys

Bayer 04 today congratulate Jens Hegeler on his 34th birthday. The midfielder joined the Black and Reds U19 squad from the youth section at VfL Leverkusen in 2006/07. The Cologne-born player then progressed to the senior squad by the second team. Hegeler made a total of 134 appearances for the Black and Reds. In 2014 he moved on to the capital to join Hertha Berlin. Hansjörg Schneider is also a year older today (56). He has been a physio at Bayer 04 since 2009. Happy birthday to you two.

Bayer 04 also send greetings to Vladlen Yurchenko on his 28th birthday. The Ukrainian player joined the Werkself in 2014/15 from Shakhtar Donetsk and he spent four seasons at Leverkusen. Joel Abu Hanna is 24 today. The central defender progressed through the Performance Centre at Bayer 04, playing for all the Werkself youth teams. The left-footer moved on to FC Kaiserslautern in 2017. Many happy returns to you too.