Leeds United 'baffled' by Germany pre-season rules as LUTV match details confirmed

Leeds United insist they are ‘baffled’ and ‘frustrated’ at not being allowed to stream their pre-season friendlies in Germany live, having been informed of the decision by the country’s security authorities.

Leeds flew out to Germany on Sunday morning for their summer training camp, with friendly meetings against two local clubs to look forward to. But supporters have been warned against travelling with both fixtures having to be played behind closed doors, a decision the YEP were told was due to safety concerns relating to the grounds being used.

As well as not being able to attend the games, supporters are also going to miss out on watching them live via Leeds United’s media channels - a development which has led to frustration. But the club have now confirmed that fixtures will be shown ‘as live’ shortly after the final whistle, with reporting also embargoed.

A club statement read: “Leeds United can confirm all supporters will be able to watch any fixtures played in Germany for free on LUTV, shortly after the full-time whistle. This decision comes after the club was baffled to be informed by German security authorities that a live stream or live updates are no longer permissible.

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“Naturally the club are frustrated at this decision, compounded with the games already having to take place behind closed doors, without loyal supporters. The key objective for this training camp is to optimise the technical preparation for Daniel Farke and his squad ahead of the new campaign and everyone believes this will be achieved.

“Details of when the matches are available on demand, on LUTV, will be communicated via club social media channels.”

News will provide some comfort to Leeds fans hoping to see their team in action over the next week or so, and there will be plenty to keep an eye on when coverage of the fixtures do go live. A strong squad beat Harrogate Town 3-0 on Friday but there could be four fresh faces involved in Germany.

Patrick Bamford, Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober - the latter pair looking set to stay after returning from their respective loan spells - have all flown out with the squad and should feature in some respect. Their new teammate Jayden Bogle could also make an unofficial debut, having left Sheffield United to sign a four-year deal on Saturday evening.

Supporters will also be keen to see if Farke continues to work on using a back-three, a decision he took for Friday’s victory in Harrogate and the first suggestion Wober could be kept on board. James Debayo filled the third centre-back role in North Yorkshire and is one of several promising young stars to have made the journey, alongside the likes of Charlie Crew and Harry Gray.