An amateur German football team lost a match 37-0 after they socially distanced from their opponents due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The losing side, SG Ripdorf/Molzen II, only fielded seven players as that was the minimum team size required to complete the fixture.

It came after their opponents for the game – SV Holdenstedt II – previously faced off against a team with a player who tested positive for coronavirus.

Despite all of the Holdenstedt squad testing negative for Covid-19, Ripdorf did not feel conditions were safe enough to properly compete.

However, in the 11th tier of German football there is a €200 (£182.64) fine for forfeiting a game.

And so the Lower Saxony’s 3 Kreisklasse league witnessed the almost 40 goal drubbing – equal to scoring a goal roughly every two-and-a-half minutes.