Bayern Munich-Union Berlin game postponed because of heavy snow

Saturday's Bundesliga home game between German football champions Bayern Munich and Union Berlin has been postponed due to heavy snowfall and associated safety risks, the clubs said.

Considering the risks for all involved, it was decided not to go ahead with the match, which had been due to start at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT).

"Even if it had been possible to get the pitch at the Allianz Arena in a condition that would have allowed the match to be played by the afternoon, safety risks and the traffic situation made postponement unavoidable," Bayern Munich said in a statement.

Roof avalanches in the arena would pose a great danger for spectators, the club said, while it was unlikely that fans, police and other personnel would even be able to reach the stadium amid the transport chaos in Bavaria resulting from the heavy snowfall overnight.

The club would announce about a new date for the game as soon as possible, said Bayern's chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen.

Although Munich's Allianz Arena has a heated pitch, the main concern was not the fixture's playability, but the safety of the visiting spectators, some of whom were travelling to Munich from much further afield.

Snow and ice caused traffic chaos in the south of Germany on Saturday morning. Flight operations at Munich Airport were suspended until Sunday morning due to heavy snowfall, according to a spokesman. Numerous rail, underground, bus and tram services were disrupted.

The weather chaos at Munich Airport also affected the travel plans of national coach Julian Nagelsmann, who was due to attend the evening's draw for the European Championship group stage in Hamburg.

He instead travelled the long distance by car and made it on time.

In Hamburg, the German national football team will be allocated their three group opponents for the final tournament in June 2024.

A challenging group with the Netherlands, defending champions Italy and Austria is possible - but also a supposedly easy task with Albania, Slovenia and a weak qualifier, for example.