Following an offline test phase in the previous season,[4] the video assistant referee system will be used for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga.[5][6] Also, the number of substitutes allowed on the bench was increased from seven to nine for the 2019–20 season.[7]
Arminia Bielefeld was on the way to the top of the table as of the 6 match day. Shortly before the end of the round, they managed to achieve 1st position, and stayed there. Only a few days before the direct promotion and then the 2. Bundesliga championship were determined. Last year's relegation team VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV competed for second place, but both of them were never able to start longer winning streaks and fell further and further behind Arminia Bielefeld. A game day before the end of the season, no decision had been made as to which team would also advance. With the 2–1 victory against Hamburger SV,[11] last year's fifth-placed 1. FC Heidenheim finally moved to the relegation place, while VfB Stuttgart was able to consolidate second place with a 6–0[12] in 1. 1. FC Nürnberg and Hamburger SV therefore only had a chance to finish third. In addition, only VfB Stuttgart had fired its head coach from the top four during the season. On the final day of the match 1. FC Heidenheim lost to champion Arminia Bielefeld,[13] but Hamburger SV did not take advantage of this opportunity and got an unexpected 1-5 loss to SV Sandhausen.[14] Therefore, 1. FC Heidenheim held onto third place and competed against SV Werder Bremen in the relegation. After a 0–0 in SV Werder Bremen and a 2–2 in the home game, 1. FC Heidenheim missed the promotion due to the away goals rule.
Fight for relegations
The newly promoted SV Wehen Wiesbaden was already in the relegation fight as of the 2 match day and could never get beyond the relegation place with the exception of the 20 match day. Nevertheless, the rescue was still possible until shortly before the end of the season, as was the case with the co-leader Karlsruher SC. In addition to the two, FC St. Pauli, VfL Osnabrück and 1. FC Nürnberg were also relegated to the 3. Liga; FC St. Pauli and VfL Osnabrück finally saved themselves. On the final day of the match, this meant a four-way match between 1. FC Nürnberg, Karlsruher SC and SV Wehen Wiesbaden as well as Dynamo Dresden, which had occupied the last place the longest and, after 33 games played, could only push themselves to the relegation rank. Dynamo Dresden played only draws against VfL Osnabrück and was therefore relegated as the last in the table. SV Wehen Wiesbaden played 5–3 against FC St. Pauli,[15] but also had to be relegated as Karlsruher SC won and was able to save themselves in 15th place. 1. FC Nürnberg also won only one point and would have depended on a home victory of the Frankish rival SpVgg Greuther Fürth against Karlsruher SC, so as not to have to play for the class maintenance. Therefore, the "Club" was ranked 16th at the end of the season and had to contest the relegation against the previous year's relegation club FC Ingolstadt 04. After a 2–0 win in the first leg,[16] the 1. FC Nürnberg players lost 1–3 in the return match,[17] but remained in the 2. Bundesliga due to the away goals rule.
Useful Information
At the start of the season, the Video assistant referee was introduced as additional support for referees during the game. The Video assistant referee was tested "offline" in the pre-season, and for this season a direct link was established between the main referee on the field and a video assistant. Not all contentious scenes are evaluated by the video assistant, only those involving possible goals, red cards (but not yellow-red cards), penalties or player confusion.[18][19] After two years of service in the Bundesliga, the video evidence was introduced in the 2. Bundesliga.[20]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, on 8 March 2020 the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn recommended cancelling events with more than 1,000 people.[21] The following day, the DFL announced that the 2. Bundesliga season would be completed to ensure planning for the following season, and that any postponements would be to matchdays en bloc. In the following days, Timo Hübers, Jannes Horn (both of Hannover 96), Fabian Nürnberger (1. FC Nürnberg) and Stefan Thesker (Holstein Kiel) tested positive for COVID-19, requiring all first team players of the three clubs to self-quarantine.[22][23][24] Fixtures on matchday 26 (13–15 March) were planned to be played without spectators, when necessary, due to local restrictions on public gatherings,[25] but the round was subsequently postponed on 13 March due to safety issues.[8] On 16 March, the DFL general assembly suspended the league until at least 2 April, and scheduled another meeting for the final week of March to discuss how the competition should proceed.[26] The DFL Executive Committee later recommended that the General Assembly, at their meeting on 31 March, extend the suspension until at least 30 April, which was confirmed after that meeting.[27][28]
The DFL are looking into possible scenarios to finish the season regularly.[29] However, several virologists raised doubts, stating that any professional football matches in Germany, including those behind closed doors, were unrealistic for at least the next 12 months.[30][31]
On 3 April 2020, the DFL reported that the financial situation of most teams was more serious than thought. 13 of the 36 professional football clubs from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, including nine clubs from the 2. Bundesliga, would have to declare bankruptcy by May or June unless league operations resumed by then. Twelve of those clubs had already used the outstanding license fees (which are dependent on the season to be continued) to pay their March debts to creditors.[32][33] At their 31 March meeting, the DFL had decided that clubs that enter insolvency proceedings this season would not suffer the usual deduction of points, and clubs that enter proceedings next season only lose three instead of the usual nine points.[34] After allowing teams to return to training in a limited fashion, the league returned on 16 May to play following approval from local authorities.[35][36] On 9 May 2020, two players of Dynamo Dresden tested positive for COVID-19, requiring a 14-day quarantine for the entire first team and training staff, therefore preventing their match scheduled on 17 May against Hannover 96 from taking place.[37] On 14 May, after a meeting of all clubs, five substitutions will be permitted, which has been temporarily allowed by IFAB following a proposal by FIFA to lessen the impact of fixture congestion.[38][39][40] The broadcaster Sky Sport announced that for the first two weeks after the restart, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga simulcast ("conference") will be shown on free-to-air television in Germany, in order to prevent gatherings of people without pay TV subscriptions.[41]
^Attendances before the change to spectatorless matches. All 81 matches played after 9 March 2020 have been, or are scheduled to be, played behind closed doors without any spectators.
^The average league attendance was 20,370 after 225 matches prior to fixtures being played behind closed doors.
^Eichner was initially appointed as interim coach until the end of the season. The move was made permanent during 2020–21 pre-season, on 8 July 2020.
