Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Annoying, dangerous – and expensive
Unfair laser pointer attack on Kimmich
The German national soccer team leaves North Macedonia with a victory, with the World Cup ticket in their luggage. The game is a success, but there is still trouble. Because opposing fans blind Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich. That is dangerous – and it can still be expensive.
The trip to North Macedonia was totally worth it for the German national soccer team. Booked the ticket for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As the first nation in the world. Thanks to the 4-0 win in Skopje. The resistance of the North Macedonians was not immense either, the game overall very fair. Referee Danny Makkelie only dealt two yellow cards, one to Kai Havertz and one to Stefan Ristovski. Nothing more was acute in the field. And yet Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer got excited in the first half. Because off the pitch, warnings were necessary.
The two were blinded with laser pointers, spectators in the stands attacked the two Bayern professionals with the green light. Neuer was already on before kick-off, Kimmich then hit it in the 18th minute when executing a corner. Again and again it was clear from the pictures from the stadium that Kimmich was blinded by a green light in his face.
Makkelie gave a warning. The referee interrupted the game at short notice. He also ordered an announcement from the stadium announcer. He asked to stop the disturbances. Without much success: Kimmich was also attacked at the next corner.
It was to be expected that it would be heated in Skopje. It was already clear with the national anthems, when the German was disturbed with loud whistles. That was unsportsmanlike, but not dangerous to health like the attacks against Kimmich and Neuer.
Strong laser beams can be dangerous for the eyes, the retina can burn, in worse cases even the retina can be damaged – sometimes with irreversible damage. Again and again, stadium visitors say that they have to use their laser pointers. A utensil that you bring to the stadium especially for this purpose, it is known to be rarely needed in everyday life.
Even if the corners of Kimmich didn’t bring anything countable and he let the disturbances annoy him, the North Macedonian spectators ultimately had nothing of their action. On the contrary, it can still be expensive for North Macedonia. At the European Championship, Denmark’s goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was blinded by English supporters. UEFA fined EUR 30,000 for these attacks. The English federation has to pay these.