3. Bundesliga soccer
Monkey sounds from grandstand: game between Duisburg and Osnabrück canceled due to racism
The police are said to have investigated the stands and questioned individual fans
© Christof Koepsel / Getty Images
The third division game between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück was canceled after racist comments from a fan. Fans and clubs were horrified.
The match in the 3rd soccer league between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück on Sunday was canceled in the 33rd minute due to a racist incident. Referee Nicolas Winter had initially interrupted the match after, according to the guests, VfL professional Aaron Opoku had been insulted by the audience.
Winter described the scene after half an hour: “There was a corner kick for VfL Osnabrück, and when the player who took the kick wanted to run to the corner kick, monkeys were called from the stands. He noticed that immediately, and so did the assistant. Both of them took me the process described. ” That is something “where we are very sensitive and also react directly,” said the referee. “I tried to take care of him directly and saw how shocked he was.”
According to a report by the “Rheinische Post”, fans and stewards immediately went looking for the fan. The police were still investigating the stands and questioning individual fans. Because there were only a few spectators in the arena due to the corona measures, the perpetrator was quickly identified and expelled from the stadium. There the song “Scream for Love” was then played by the punk rock band “Die Ärzte”, which is considered a clear sign against racism. Fans also started listening to “Nazis out”.
“Aaron, we stand behind you!”
“VfL Osnabrück – and that is more than understandable – can no longer compete, the boy is fixated and everyone, the whole team is finished, we are honestly even after this incredible incident,” said MSV spokesman Martin Haltermann on Magenta TV . “Right now we’re all pretty speechless.”
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VfL Osnabrück also showed solidarity with their professional on Twitter:
VfL managing director Michael Welling reported: “Aaron is actually very, very exhausted and no longer able to play. That was one of the reasons we said we would not compete again.” Welling emphasized that it should “not belong to society and therefore not to football”.
sources: DPA; “Rheinische Post”
