The noose tightens on Swiss sport

(Keystone-ATS)

The noose is tightening a little more around Swiss professional sport, which may soon be forced to take a break.

Its practice must now also be done behind closed doors in the cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura, while Friborg, Vaud and Geneva are adopting the 1,000-person gauge.

Neuchâtel and the Jura thus apply the same strict regime as the Valais. Neuchâtel Xamax (Football Challenge League), Union Neuchâtel (LNA basketball), HC La Chaux-de-Fonds and Ajoie or BC Boncourt (LNA basketball) will thus have to play in front of empty spans in the near future.

Team and contact sports (football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, combat sports, etc.) are also prohibited in these two cantons, with the exception therefore of their practice at the professional level. The measures apply until November 15 in the Jura and until November 30 in Neuchâtel.

Friborg, Vaud and Geneva, which also ban sports involving any physical contact, do not want to go behind closed doors. But the decision to lower the gauge to 1,000 people particularly hurts Friborg-Gottéron, the Lausanne Hockey Club and Genève-Servette, which could accommodate 5,160, 5,315 and 4,100 spectators respectively.

“It’s a cold shower. It was already not easy to start with two-thirds (ed: spectators), so having to put it all on hold,” agrees LHC president Patrick de Preux, stressing that the Confederation will have to “help the clubs with lost funds. Otherwise we will not get over it.”

This measure is in effect until the end of November in Friborg and Geneva, and “until further notice” in the canton of Vaud. It also affects the reigning Swiss basketball champion, Friborg Olympic, its rival of the Geneva Lions, Servette FC as well as the Vaudois football clubs of Lausanne-Sport (Super League) and Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy (Challenge League). .

Status quo in Zurich

Status quo on the other hand in the canton of Zurich, where events that can accommodate more than 1,000 people remain authorized. The concepts of security and protection must, however, be re-examined by the Zurich Council of State, whose decision is surprising.

Football clubs – Zurich (Super League), Grasshoppers and Winterthur (Challenge League) – and ice hockey clubs – Zurich Lions (National League), Kloten, Winterthur and GCK Lions (Swiss League) – can continue to play in front of tiers two-thirds full. Even though FC Winterthur and the GCK Lions are on forced rest due to positive tests in their squad …

We wait for the 28

The chaos therefore seems closer and closer. These restrictions, which will cause further financial losses for the clubs, come on top of postponements and quarantines accumulating in all sports and at all levels and, above all, to a health situation that is deteriorating every year. day.

The Federal Council will certainly take other restrictive measures next Wednesday, measures which could force professional sport to (re) take a break. But can the leaders of the Professional Leagues decently wait beyond October 28 to unplug the plug?

“The League has communicated that we will play until November 2. We also said that we would wait for the decisions of the Federal Council to advise,” recalls the director general of Gottéron Raphaël Berger. “We are considering a break from the championship. And if you have to play until June or July, you have to take that into consideration, even if you have to give up the World Championship.”

Same story with Patrick de Preux. “Now we need to find conditions that are more or less tolerable. Our wish is to put the championship on hold. But until when?”, He wonders. These doubts shared by Lausanne-Sport press manager Vincent Steinmann: “What do we do now? Are we putting the championship on hold? Are we continuing?”

At Servette FC, on the other hand, we say we are dependent on the decisions of the Swiss Football League. “As it stands, the viability of the club is not threatened, management had been cautious in drawing up budgets,” adds Loïc Luscher, spokesperson for Grenat.