After relegation riots
Bielefeld condemns fan violence and praises Klos as a role model
6/3/2023, 4:01 p.m
Arminia Bielefeld not only walks on the abyss on Friday, but falls deep into it. The East Westphalians lose the relegation game at Wehen Wiesbaden and the fans lose their minds. The game is about to be canceled. Club legend Fabian Klos prevents worse. He gets a big compliment.
Captain Fabian Klos was expressly praised by second division soccer team Arminia Bielefeld for his sharp criticism after the 4-0 defeat in the relegation first leg at third division team SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Once again, the 35-year-old was “a role model in what he did and certainly also in what he expressed with his emotions,” said Arminia.
Klos had ruthlessly criticized the embarrassing appearance of his Arminia in the Hessians. “You have to rightly deny the character of this team. This team is not a team,” the striker explained in interviews. For the 35-year-old, the disappointing performance was also the trigger for the Bielefeld fans’ riots. The encounter was interrupted for 20 minutes because of this.
Bielefeld announces investigations
Arminia described the riots “as unacceptable border crossings by people in the guest block”. The club distanced itself “from any form of violence” and condemned the sometimes dangerous behavior of the Bielefeld supporters by “shooting flares out of the block and igniting or throwing firecrackers on the pitch, which discredits fair play”.
He also apologized to the hosts after a “sportingly disillusioning evening”. Bielefeld thanked referee Benjamin Brand and those responsible for the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL). The club attested to them “to have acted prudently in a highly tense situation and to have always had in mind to continue the game after the interruption for the full season and not have to stop”.
Bielefeld also announced investigations into the incidents: “Together with the responsible authorities and authorities, we will carefully work through what happened on Friday evening and support investigations.”