Merkel denies that Macron has recommended Bundesliga cancellation

German chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that a decision on whether the Bundesliga season can resume amid the coronavirus pandemic has been pushed back to Wednesday 6th May.

Football authorities had previously been hoping to receive the go-ahead to resume league games without fans as early as 9th May, but this now appears unlikely.

Merkel met with the country's 16 state governors and warned there is still a danger that numbers of COVID-19 infections could rise if strict containment measures are relaxed too soon.

"On 6th of May we will evaluate the ideas of the ministers of education, youth and sport and make a very clear decision as to the consequences and ways in which school day-care centres can be re-established and, of course, under the given conditions, certain sporting activities," she said.

Merkel also denied that there had been any pressure applied by the French government to cancel the Bundesliga season after the Ligue 1 campaign was scrubbed.

"No, I haven't heard anything about that," she said. "I have regular contact with the French president. But I have not heard anything about that yet."

The Bundesliga was suspended on 13th March with nine rounds remaining.