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Freiburg and the brand new $85 million soccer stadium that won’t be allowed to host games at night

Most football fans would agree a raucous atmosphere is conducive to the thrill of watching their team play.

Which is why German soccer club Freiburg received a shock earlier this week after it was told it would not be allowed to host night matches at its brand new $85 million stadium because of fears over noise levels.

A ruling by an administrative court for Baden-Wurttemberg has said the club will be prohibited from playing games at its new home that begin at 8 p.m. local time and between 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Freiburg CEO Oliver Leki said the club was surprised by the verdict.

In a statement sent to CNN, he said: “Given the course to date, this decision comes very unexpectedly. The grounds will have to be examined in detail in order to continue with the proceedings.”

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It is expected that an appeal will be made following the court’s decision.

The current ruling means Freiburg, which is scheduled to move into the new 35,000 stadium in time for the 2020/21 season, would be unable to play in four of the six game slots used by the German Bundesliga at a weekend.

If not resolved, it would mean Freiburg would be unable to host games on Friday’s 8.30 p.m. slot, Saturday’s 6.30 p.m. slot and Monday’s at 8.30 p.m. It would also be banned from playing home games at 1.30 p.m. on a Sunday.

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This is not the first time the club has faced a legal challenge over the new stadium.

In May, a local court rejected legal action brought by residents who had objected to construction, citing fears over noise and increased traffic.

Freiburg, which currently plays its home home games at the 24,000-capacity Schwarzwald Stadion, sits sixth in Germany’s top division.

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