Bayern Munich hit with fine for 37 second delay as Bundesliga giants attempt to blame Mainz for uproar

A match last season has had costly repercussions for Bayern Munich. The reason for this is that the kick-off was delayed by 37 seconds in their home game against Mainz on matchday 31. That 37-second delay will now cost the German record champions €35,000. This is according to a ruling by the DFB Sports Court.

According to the ruling, "the equipment check of the Bayern players" did not take place at 3:25:30 PM on that day, "but only at 3:27:00 PM, thus with a delay of 1:30 minutes." The statement said: "This delay, for which FC Bayern Munich is responsible under Section 14a of the DFL rules of play, also caused the kick-off to be delayed by 37 seconds."

According to kicker, Bayern arguedthat the delay was caused by the Mainz players gathering before kick-off. Their efforts to defend themselves went in vain, as the DFB Sports Court pointed out that this only took 50 seconds – "and thus 15 seconds less than allowed for in the schedule."

Had the kick-off been delayed just 29 seconds, Die Roten might have gotten off lightly. However, according to the DFB, this marks the seventh time the record champions have been responsible for a delayed start, prompting the federation to issue a fine.

Bayern will play their first competitive game of the 2025-26 season on August 16, when they take on Stuttgart in the DFL-Supercup. Their Bundesliga title defence begins the following weekend, on August 22 against RB Leipzig.

Additional reporting by Jonas Rutten.