BERLIN: Joshua Kimmich will be under the spotlight for Bayern Munich at rivals Moenchengladbach on Wednesday amid a fiery debate in Germany since the footballer revealed he opted not to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The 26-year-old is set to play for Bayern in a German Cup second-round tie, but off the pitch, his decision not to get vaccinated has even drawn comment from the government in Berlin.
On Saturday, Kimmich revealed he decided against being vaccinated, despite having founded the ‘We Kick Corona” charity last year.
“It’s not that I’m a denier of the coronavirus or an opponent of vaccination,” said Kimmich, who based his decision on “personal concerns.”
The footballer’s stance drew comment from Caretaker Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, who hopes the footballer will inform himself and “let all available information about the vaccines approved in the EU sink in.”
Siebert urged Kimmich to get vaccinated because the Bayern star is “someone who is looked up to by millions” as a role model.
Kimmich appears to be in the minority among Germany’s top flight footballers.
Christian Seifert, managing director of the German Football League (DFL), has said around 94 percent of Bundesliga players are vaccinated.
Of Germany’s population of 83 million, around 66 percent are fully vaccinated, but Europe’s biggest economy is currently in the fourth wave with 10,000 new cases of the coronavirus reported Tuesday.
Since testing positive for Covid-19 last week, Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann has been giving training and matchday instructions from home where he is quarantined.
Kimmich says he may get vaccinated in the future and team-mate Thomas Mueller hopes it will be sooner rather than later.
“As a friend, it’s an absolutely acceptable decision,” said Mueller.
“As a teammate, and if you also look a little at what might be better for everyone... my opinion is perhaps that the vaccination would be better.”
On Monday, Bayern president Herbert Hainer said he would be happy if Kimmich “still gets vaccinated, but there is no compulsory vaccination. One has to respect the decision.”
Kimmich has drawn plenty of criticism from medical experts.
“Joshua Kimmich is certainly a proven expert in matters of football, but not an expert in matters of vaccination and vaccines,” Thomas Mertens, chairman of Germany’s Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), told German media.
“It is the personal decision of Kimmich and it should have stayed that way.”
There is also some support.
In a statement, Carsten Ramelow, vice president of the footballers’ union VDV, said it must be “accepted if individual players have concerns about side effects of the vaccination and therefore hold a different opinion.”
The chair of the German Ethics Council also stressed the importance of respecting Kimmich’s “private decision.”
However, the council’s chairwoman Alena Buyx told Sky “I think it’s a pity. It would be great if he would have used his platform to get better advice in order to be a role model.”
Buyx is concerned skeptics could use his statements to “cast doubt over vaccinations.”
Bayern star Kimmich sparks vaccination debate in Germany
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Bayern star Kimmich sparks vaccination debate in Germany
- On Saturday, Kimmich revealed he decided against being vaccinated, despite having founded the 'We Kick Corona" charity last year
- Bayern president Herbert Hainer said he would be happy if Kimmich "still gets vaccinated, but there is no compulsory vaccination.
Late Guirassy winner for Dortmund trims Bayern’s lead atop Bundesliga
- A fifth consecutive league victory moved Niko Kovac’s side to 48 points
- The Guinean supplied a fine left-footed finish in the 87th minute to ensure it was a winning return
WOLFSBURG, Germany: A late Serous Guirassy winner settled a tense contest in Wolfsburg as Borussia Dortmund prevailed 2-1 on Saturday to provisionally cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga to three points.
A fifth consecutive league victory moved Niko Kovac’s side to 48 points, within a victory of erstwhile runaway leaders Bayern, who can restore their six-point cushion with victory at in-form Hoffenheim on Sunday.
After a record-breaking start to the season, the champions are winless in their last two games, giving Dortmund the chance to dream of a first title since 2012 with 13 games to go.
It was not a vintage display by Dortmund, who suffered a blow pre-match with the news that captain Emre Can will be sidelined for another month.
But they ground out victory against a Wolfsburg team who have only won once since the turn of the year thanks to goals by Julian Brandt and Guirassy, each side of a Konstantinos Koulierakis leveller for the hosts.
Max Beier almost put Dortmund ahead in the first half but his effort was deflected by Denis Vavro’s last-ditch block onto the underside of the bar.
But the Wolves failed to heed that warning when a few minutes later Dortmund went ahead.
- Pivotal -
Julian Ryerson’s 38th-minute corner from the left found Brandt at the near post and the Germany international out-leaped substitute Jan Buerger to nod in.
Dortmund’s advantage was erased seven minutes into the second half when Koulierakis chose the perfect moment to score his first goal for Wolfsburg, powering in a header from close range.
With 15th-placed Wolfsburg only a few minutes away from securing a precious point, Dortmund produced a silky winner after Guirassy capped good play by Felix Nmecha and Fabio Silva.
The Guinean supplied a fine left-footed finish in the 87th minute to ensure it was a winning return to his former club for Dortmund coach Kovac.
This also proved a pivotal day in the battle for Bundesliga survival as well as the fight for the coveted top-four places.
St. Pauli, whose last win was before the winter break, hosted fourth-placed Stuttgart, who hadn’t lost in the league since a 5-0 home drubbing by Bayern on December 6.
Daniel Sinani’s clever dummy wrong-footed the Stuttgart defense and the loose ball was lashed in from the edge of the box by Manolis Saliakis for the opener on 35 minutes.
Things got even better for St. Pauli 10 minutes after the break when Sinani slotted home from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 after a VAR review confirmed a handball against Chris Fuehrich.
Stuttgart pulled one back through Jamie Leweling in the last minute but it was too little too late as goal-shy St. Pauli clawed themselves to within touching distance of the teams above them, despite remaining 17th.
St. Pauli’s city rivals Hamburg also picked up a precious three points, winning their first game on the road this season at 2-0 bottom-placed Heidenheim.
Mainz recorded yet another victory, this time a 2-0 win over Augsburg, in their remarkable turnaround under Swiss strategist Urs Fischer, who has guided Mainz from the bottom of the table to 13th in a matter of weeks.
Nadiem Amiri scored both goals from the spot, each side of the interval, to make it four wins in five ahead of a trip to Dortmund next weekend.
Werder Bremen were edged out by a sensational solitary strike by Freiburg’s Jan-Niklas Beste to extend their winless streak to 11 games.
Bremen’s losing run, the longest in the German top flight, resulted in coach Horst Steffen being relieved of his duties last week, with Daniel Thioune replacing him.
