Berlin, Mar 11 (AFP) The Bundesliga match between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich on Saturday will be played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus scare, Berlin city government said Wednesday.

"The match will be played without spectators," the city deputy health chief Dilek Kalayci told Spreeradio station despite Union Berlin's statement Tuesday saying the match would be open to an expected 22,000 fans.

On Sunday, Germany's health minister Jens Spahn requested that all events with more than 1,000 people be cancelled "until further notice".

But the decision to close stadium doors rests ultimately with regional authorities and is made on a case-by-case basis.

Also behind closed doors this weekend are matches at Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04, Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn, Augsbourg v VfL Wolfsburg and Cologne v Mainz 05. (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)