Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen Sport Dir Rudi Völler "is calling for a schedule change in favor of more Sunday matches to help the Bundesliga's Europa League participants," according to KICKER. Only on five matchweeks per season does the Bundesliga allow three Sunday games. The German Football League (DFL) has used this option already four times in the first half of the season. And due to the fact that all four German Europa League teams, Stuttgart, Gladbach, Hannover and Leverkusen, are still in the competition, the possibility of a team having two games in less than 48 hours is increased in the upcoming months. Völler said, "It is preposterous that Europa League teams have to play on Thursday and on Saturday in the Bundesliga. I hope DFL boss Christian Seifert together with [Managing Dir] Andreas Rettig, which I both highly value, can improve this area during the negotiations with the league's partners for the upcoming season. After all, it works in other European leagues." He added: "It is too bad that clubs such as we, Stuttgart, Mönchengladbach or Hannover are punished for success" (KICKER, 1/3).
