Watching Bundesliga hasn't convinced Keith Higgins on idea of games behind closed doors

The Mayo star feels games without crowds lack intensity

Watching the Bundesliga hasn’t helped Keith Higgins warm to the idea of matches behind closed doors.

The German league restarted earlier this month with no fans present as Bayern Munich tighten their grip on an eighth successive title.

Although the GAA has said that the Championship will not get underway before October, if at all, they will still be keeping a watchful eye on how professional sports across Europe fare as they resume competitive action at the elite level.

While the GAA’s top brass appears unenthusiastic about staging games behind closed doors, former president Sean Kelly commented recently that it would be “strange” if Gaelic games remained on hold while other codes were being widely played.

“You are always better off giving people something they can look forward to rather than saying that nothing is going to happen,” said Kelly.

“We should be prepared to work and open as soon as we are given the authority to do so.”

However, Mayo star Higgins has been left cold by what he’s seen from Germany so far.

“You see a lot of mixed reaction to it,” he told the Sideline View podcast.

“The theory is there that it’s better than no games at all but I was watching some of the Bundesliga there at the weekend and it just felt like an overrated challenge game or training game or something.

“There was no real intensity to it or anything like that to it, but look, you can’t rule anything out at this stage, you take what you can get but realistically you wouldn’t want to be playing an important Championship game behind closed doors.

“You’d want some kind of atmosphere at it but we can’t be too fussy and too picky at this stage really.”