- After Geneva’s 1-0 win in the Cup semi-finals in Winterthur, sports briefly took a back seat and some masked fans stormed the pitch.
- A distress flare was thrown by the visiting fans in front of the opposing stand and in the middle of the Winterthur fans.
- While Servette “strongly condemned” the incident the next day, Winterthur issued its first multi-year stadium bans.
The disappointment among the Winterthur players after the game was so great that some of them initially didn’t even notice what had happened on the Schützenwiese immediately after the final whistle (see video above). Masked guest supporters had stormed the pitch despite the “Grenats” having secured a place in the cup final – which had come about thanks to the equally narrow and ultra-late 1-0 away win.
Geneva fans occasionally hurled flares towards the Winterthur fan block in the opposite stand and also into the audience, but no one was injured. Some ultras from the home team saw themselves provoked by this and also rushed onto the pitch.
On Monday, FC Winterthur also took a stand on the events: “Unfortunately, after the final whistle of the game, a few dozen fans on both sides managed to sabotage the positive atmosphere in an unacceptable way,” writes the FCW on its website. We are now evaluating the image material. And: “The first multi-year stadium bans can already be issued.” After the game, “some of the Servette fans had skirmishes with the police”.
The players themselves finish off the fallibles
“I don’t understand. Because right there, on the pitch, the fans have no place,” said SRF expert Benjamin Huggel angrily in the studio afterwards. Rather, the supporters are in demand with their support in the stands. “It simply cannot be the case that such unnecessary actions endanger the victory of your own team,” adds Huggel.
At least the 46-year-old was pleased with what he saw afterwards: the football professionals themselves finally managed to get their own ultras to return to their sectors and thus prevent anything worse from happening. «It’s great that the players from both camps helped to bring the situation under control. They repelled the fans with healthy aggression. That’s exactly how it has to be,” says Huggel.
The people of Geneva want to avoid the brutal end
Despite the inglorious conclusion, Servette is back in the cup final for the first time since 2001 and will be there on June 2nd in Wankdorf in Bern against Lugano the chance for his first title in 23 years.
Coach René Weiler said afterwards that he was of course happy, but not “insanely euphoric”. Because the cup competition is a brutal format. Apart from the final winner, there would ultimately only be losers. “Of course we are now trying to contest the cup final against Lugano as positively as possible,” said the coach. So it could effectively mean: all’s well that ends well – without any fuss afterwards.