Leeds dispute what German police are now saying about pre-season plans
Leeds United have a busy pre-season schedule ahead of their upcoming Premier League campaign.
Daniel Farke is set to face multiple top teams over the next few weeks as he looks to prepare his squad for survival.
Leeds are set to take on Manchester United on 19 July, in what will be their first friendly of pre-season.
On top of this, the Peacocks are also set for a trip out to Germany as preparations continue.
Leeds dispute claims of a friendly in Rostock
After their friendly against Manchester United, Leeds are set to fly out to Germany. However, this trip has been full of controversy.
At the end of June, supporters were informed that German authorities failed to grant Leeds United a permit to play in front of their own fans.
As a result, many of the Elland Road faithful have been discouraged from travelling to the nation, with zero friendlies planned that supporters can watch.
Now, according to The Athletic (17 July), the German authorities have hit back at this claim as they stated that a friendly with spectators was scheduled in Rostock.
Pascal Pettinato, chief inspector at North Rhine-Westphalia Police, said: “There is an agreement between the Central Information Office for Sports Operations (ZIS, also known as National Football Information Point) and the German football association (DFB) regarding international test (friendly) matches.
“Every planned test match with international participation is checked for certain security aspects. These include, for example, the venue must meet certain security-related requirements, such as the possibility of fan segregation, or the local security authorities must not be required to request additional nationwide support forces.
“If even one of these security-relevant requirements is not met, such a test match can only be assessed negatively from a police perspective. To ensure a match can still take place, the clubs have the option of excluding spectators from the event.
“At this point, I would also like to inform you that not every Leeds United match should have taken place without spectators. For example, there were initially plans to hold a match in Rostock where, as far as I know, spectators would have been allowed.”
However, Leeds United have quickly hit back at this claim, arguing that a friendly was never planned for Rostock, adding the city is more than four hours away from where they will be based next week.
German trip has been a disaster for Leeds
Whoever is at fault for the friendlies, the trip to Germany has no doubt been a disaster for Leeds.
The fact that supporters are only able to attend three pre-season matches this pre-season is awful, considering how big the anticipation is for the new campaign.
| Leeds’ pre-season schedule | Date |
| Manchester United vs Leeds | 19 July |
| Leeds vs Villarreal | 2 August |
| Leeds vs AC Milan | 9 August |
Now, Farke can help to make up for this disaster by ensuring that the Yorkshire club puts in credible displays in these matches.
Momentum is no doubt vital ahead of the new season, and victories in each of the three friendlies could prove to be the difference at the start of the Premier League campaign.
Sign up for the MOT Leeds News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Leeds United news sent straight to your phone.