German football team Borussia Mönchengladbach went to a newfound extreme to make its return to playing feel more natural by using thousands of cardboard cutouts as a replacement for fans in the stands.
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic preventing the attendance of fans at sports matches, the club got creative and used more than 12,000 cutouts at the 54,000-capacity Borussia-Park, ahead of its first game back amid the virus.
This marked the first game back after it was announced last week that the Bundesliga had returned following its two-month break.
Gladbach season ticket holders paid around £17 to have a life-size version of themselves placed in the stands to ‘watch’ the game.
Sporting director Max Eberl branded the idea a “monument”, saying, “They’re supposed to show that football without fans just isn’t the same. It’s a great campaign which provides a lot of atmosphere in the stadium.”
For more Bundesliga news, find out what happened last week with Dedryck Boyata and Marko Grujic here on GRM Daily.