This archive report was first published on 6 May 2020.
German politicians are set to decide on Wednesday whether the Bundesliga can resume later this month, but a recent video of Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou shaking hands with his teammates has left them shocked.
According to Anja Stahmann, chairwoman of Germany's regional sports ministers, the video has done the German league and professional football a disservice.
"The video has done the German league (DFL) and professional football a disservice," Stahmann told radio station RBB on Wednesday.
Stahmann's comments come as the Bundesliga is set to be given the green light by the government to resume later this month behind closed doors and with strict hygiene measures in place.
However, Kalou's video has left a bad impression, with some people thinking the Bundesliga has lost its grip in times of a pandemic.
On Monday, the former Chelsea forward was suspended by Hertha after posting a video to Facebook showing him greeting team-mates and club employees with handshakes, flaunting hygiene guidelines laid out by the league.
Kalou apologised for disregarding the social distancing rules, saying: "it was a big mistake".
Health minister Jens Spahn said it was "right" that Hertha suspended Kalou and there were "consequences after the video".
Bavaria's premier minister Markus Soeder said the league has developed an "excellent" hygiene concept but "there are individual players, as we have read, who are behaving very, very poorly".
