As with the Werkself and all other Bundesliga clubs, where players are regularly tested for coronavirus, the Bundesliga referees will now undergo double testing ahead of every game to allow the season to be resumed. The second test will be carried out the day before they are appointed to a game. After evaluation of the test results, the DFB can appoint match officials who have had a negative test. The referees and their assistants will only meet on the day of the match. This procedure has been developed by the DFB referees management together with the DFL and the Sports Medicine/Special Match Operations Task Force under the leadership of DFB team doctor Dr Tim Meyer.
In order to increase the flexibility of appointments and to reduce the travel time of referees as far as possible, the DFB has suspended the previous practice of only appointing elite referees from outside their state associations. However, a referee living in Bremen will not officiate the Werkself game on Monday night as match officials will not be allowed to referee games involving a club from their hometown.
Bayer 04, as with all other Bundesliga clubs, will have a strongly reduced number of staff in the stadiums on matchdays – the DFL concept only allows a total of 300 members of staff per fixture. Accordingly, the number of match officials will be reduced with the target of diminishing risks: From now on there will only be the referee, the two assistants and the fourth official. The referees observer will, from now on, only fulfil their function at games through TV coverage. And the VAR set-up in Cologne will also involve a reduced number of people – there will now only be one video technician instead of the previous two and the workplaces will also be separated by plexiglass panels.
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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