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Thursday 14 May 2020 08:20, UK
The president of Dortmund's police force has urged German football fans to show it was not a "mistake" to allow the Bundesliga to resume this weekend after a two-month suspension because of the coronavirus.
Concerns have been expressed over whether fans will congregate at Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion on Saturday as they play Schalke behind closed doors in a local derby as German football's top two tiers resume.
"I want to say to the football fans - the police are prepared," Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange said on Wednesday.
"And the fans have the chance to show that the decision for the restart was no mistake."
Dortmund's organisational director Dr. Christian Hockenjos is also confident that trouble will be avoided.
"My colleagues who are responsible for the fans told me the organised fan groups don't want to come to the stadium," he said.
The resumption is set to go ahead despite several players from Germany's top two divisions testing positive for coronavirus since training resumed last month.
Three members of FC Cologne tested positive for it two weeks ago while second-tier club Dynamo Dresden placed their entire squad in quarantine after two positive tests.
Dortmund will employ additional measures - including how ball boys operate - within the stadium in any attempt to avoid any risk of transmitting the virus.
"We have 30 balls in the stadiums on different spots," Hockenjos added. "The players are responsible to get a new ball from one of the spots."
The idea is, if a ball flies far away, for example to the grandstand, the ball boys get the ball and put it on one of the spots. But the ball boys don't give the ball to the players directly."
After almost two months away, the Bundesliga becomes the first major European league to return this weekend - and you can follow all the action live on skysports.com.
Get your fix with minute-by-minute coverage and reports from the weekend's biggest games, starting with the Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on Saturday, kick-off at 2.30pm.
On Sunday, follow league leaders Bayern Munich's trip to Union Berlin, kick-off at 5pm, and on Monday night a match with huge impact at both ends of the table as Champions League-chasing Bayer Leverkusen travel to relegation-threatened Werder Bremen, kick-off at 7.30pm.
