The new playing fields

Bundesliga showcases the new normal for sports

The Bundesliga has been the first of the top-flight European football leagues to restart matches for the Covid-19-disrupted 2019-20 season, which should have, in the normal course, ended by now. Fans had had a taste of the future before Europe locked down when Italy, the worst hit by the pandemic on the continent, played some Serie A matches to empty stadiums before the season was suspended. Playing to empty stands is not a novel experience in Italian football — this has been imposed on teams as punishment several times in the past for fan or player misbehaviour or some shenanigans