“Then it hurts”
Eastern insults and bottle throwing are superimposed on crashing bankruptcy
March 16, 2024, 10:00 a.m
The company’s own managing director is furious: Some fans of 1. FC Köln misbehave during the game against RB Leipzig. They insult East Germany, even a glass bottle flies towards goalscorer Xavi Simons. That doesn’t help the club, which has fallen so far.
Marco Rose quickly made a plea for his homeland, while Christian Keller vented his anger at the abusive chants of some 1. FC Köln fans against East Germany. “Of course that’s not possible at all,” complained Cologne’s sports director Keller after the 1:5 (1:1) against RB Leipzig, which was overshadowed by insulting chants and the throwing of a glass bottle in the direction of a Leipzig player: “I don’t understand what “What’s going on in people’s minds is that we should be over this kind of status.”
It was “the clear minority of people in the stadium,” Keller added – and yet this minority is loud and stands out. It almost faded into the background that with this crushing defeat, FC suffered another setback in the fight to stay in the league and RB had gained ground in the race for the Champions League.
RB coach Rose praised his team for a “very good away performance” that would have brought a “deserved victory”. At the same time, the Leipzig native made a point of not overestimating the abusive songs. “I’m here to connect, not to divide. It’s important to classify it correctly, not to condone it,” said Rose, who was born in Leipzig during the GDR era: “The people who don’t have it over there We know them, they should come. There are a lot of cool people – like here. There are a few idiots – like here.”
Overall, “everything is very, very similar, that’s why we tore down the wall, even in our heads,” said Rose. He would rather devote his attention to the “lots of people” who “have the right attitude. We want to pull ourselves up on them.”
“…then he won’t throw any more”
Leipzig’s goalscorer “The place (of the celebration, editor’s note) was rather unfortunate, Xavi had no bad intention at all and didn’t want to provoke anyone,” said Rose: “If he did that, he’s certainly sorry. Which is an issue “is that a glass bottle flies onto the pitch. No matter who it hits, it hurts.”
The bottle throw also angered Keller. “Whoever threw a bottle,” said Keller: “I hope that we can find them on some video and pull them out, then they won’t throw any more.”
Leipzig’s national player David Raum said he had not noticed any of the insults and then followed up with a barb. RB would have given the appropriate answer to the insults on the pitch. Double packers Lois Openda (63rd, 67th), Amadou Haidara (70th) and joker Yussuf Poulsen (82nd) made RB celebrate, but the goal by Sargis Adamyan (18th) was bearable.