Bundesliga will go under if football doesn't restart, says Dortmund CEO Watzke

Hans-Joachim Watzke urged a quick Bundesliga restart amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke urged for the season to restart.

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed the Bundesliga "will go under" if the season does not resume in the next few months.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the Bundesliga to be postponed last month but there are hopes the league could be allowed to stage games behind closed doors from May 9, although concerns have been raised that fans might gather outside stadiums.

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There have been more than 206,900 COVID-19 casualties worldwide, with over 5,900 deaths in Germany.

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc globally and the crisis is set to impact sport and organisations financially as Dortmund CEO Watzke urged a quick restart.

"If we don't play in the next few months, all of Bundesliga will go under and then there wouldn't be a league in the way we know it," Watzke told Sky TV .

"Of course, many fans say: 'There's no desire for it, it's not on television', that is perfectly clear, but it's about saving football!

"We are doing all we can to get back to work, we don't want any special treatment, definitely not, but we don't want to be at a disadvantage either.

"Football can play a relevant role in society, but that's not the question, we have to do all we can to avoid that someone says football has special treatment.

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"We don't want to start with a special position, but, again, you can't compare football with other more popular sports, we want to do our jobs."

Dortmund was second – four points behind leader and defending champion Bayern Munich – through 25 games when the Bundesliga was suspended.