Bayer Leverkusen star Jonathan Tah has spoken of his disbelief that his side’s Europa League clash against Rangers went ahead amid the Covid-19 outbreak, as quoted by the Daily Record.
The Gers hosted the German club at Ibrox for the first leg of the last 16 tie on Thursday 12 March, in front of close to 50,000 fans.
Leverkusen emerged 3-1 winners, but the second leg, which was scheduled for the following Thursday evening, hasn’t been played.
In fact, hardly any fixtures have taken place in Europe since that night.
The Russian Premier League and the Turkish Super Lig continued on the longest, but both leagues were halted this week as measures are stepped up across the continent in an attempt to combat the outbreak.
Looking back now, the commanding 6ft 5″ centre-back can’t believe the fixture went ahead.
“To me, it feels like that game took place on another planet,” said Tah, as quoted by the Daily Record.”If you look back at it now, to play in Glasgow in front of almost 50,000 fans is absolutely terrifying.”
“The world has turned on its head and it’s unbelievable and frightening that the game went ahead.
“It really was just a few days ago and now look at the world.”
Verdict
There was brief speculation that UEFA would intervene, but Rangers tweeted during the afternoon of the game assuring supporters that it would take place as scheduled.
There were clues that major disruption would soon follow with both Inter Milan vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma being postponed and the likes of LASK vs Manchester United taking place behind closed doors that same night.
However, few could have predicted that by the following evening, many of the major European domestic leagues would be suspended.
Given that the majority of the UK population are now being urged to work from home, that pubs and restaurants are shut and that shops are implementing social distancing measures, it’s quite incredible that so many supporters were allowed into a stadium just over a week ago.
It seems the footballing authorities have since recognised the severity of the issue, though, and now the game is very much on the backburner with various European nations either enforcing or heading towards periods of lockdown.
