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.
Standing on the pitch where the Werkself players perform - for many Bayer 04 club members, this wish became reality at this year's Members' kickabout. Around 400 active participants of all ages took the opportunity to experience the BayArena from a new and special perspective. And there was also plenty going on in the stands: The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors in total and provided an atmospheric end to the season.
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Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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Following the final match of the 2025/26 season, the prevailing feeling was naturally one of disappointment after missing out on qualification for the Champions League. The Werkself finished the Bundesliga in sixth place, meaning they'll start the 2026/27 campaign in the Europa League. "But to talk negatively about everything now because of that would be wrong," stressed captain Robert Andrich following the final game, knowing that the past year at Bayer 04 was marked, more than almost any other, by the start of a new era and the courage to change – and in particular, the belief in a positive direction. Everyone was aware this process would need time. The first part of the 2025/26 season review.
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