Bundesliga's behind-closed-doors restart leaves players feeling empty

BERLIN－From social-distancing substitutes using airport stairs, to disinfected balls and a potential television audience of one billion, the Bundesliga enjoyed a checkered restart as the first major sports league to resume amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

German soccer's top two divisions, suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus, returned on Saturday with a schedule that included the high-profile Ruhr Valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke－as soccer-starved fans around the world tuned in to watch live action.

Despite an anticipated global television audience of one billion as predicted by Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and the hope it gave other sports leagues, it was not what fans had been hoping for and games suffered a scrappy start as players, lacking match practice, tried to adapt to the new conditions.