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No fans, no problem: Thousands of cardboard cutouts 'watch' German soccer match (photos)

German soccer team Borussia Mönchengladbach found a creative way to make its stadium feel a little more like normal for Saturday’s match against Bayer Leverkusen.

With supporters forbidden because of the coronavirus, the club placed more than 12,000 cardboard cutouts of fans in seats at the 54,000-capacity Borussia-Park ahead of its first home game since the Bundesliga returned last week following a two-month hiatus.

The “crowd” included likenesses of real Gladbach season ticket holders, who paid 19 euros (about $20) each to have a life-size picture of their torso installed in Germany’s fifth-largest venue.