During the game on Sunday between Duisburg and Osnabrück, the Osnabrück attacker Aaron Opoku was racially attacked by a Duisburg fan. This meant that the 3rd league game had to be canceled. «It was not possible for Aaron to continue playing. He was devastated in the situation, ”said VfL sporting director Amir Shapourzadeh after the game. For the first time in the top three German professional leagues, a game was initially interrupted due to racism and shortly afterwards even completely canceled. Numerous clubs had also shown solidarity with Opoku.
A few days later the DFB sports court announced that the game would be repeated. Stephan Oberholz, Deputy Chairman of the DFB Sports Court, said of the grounds for the judgment: “The incident is a non-standardized special case that, regardless of any fault of the clubs involved, justifies a replay of the game in the opinion of the sports court. Emotionally and morally, we consider VfL Osnabrück’s decision not to continue the game to be understandable. The intention to set an example against racism also has our express support. However, it must remain clear that the referee alone has the right to abandon the game. We also expressly point out that in future, comparable cases of a game being abandoned, the intensity of the offense, the perpetrator profile, the time and the score must always be taken more closely into account.
Both clubs welcomed the decision with a joint message. “But we also hope that such an abandonment will remain a one-off,” said Duisburg President Ingo Wald. VfL President Holger Elixmann emphasized that both clubs had “set a clear signal against racism and for humanity through their behavior, the DFB has joined in the sense of football with the judgment”.ape / dpa)