In the game between the U21s of 1. FC Köln and Rot-Weiss Oberhausen, everything is going well for the Cologne team, who started weakly, until just a few moments before the end. But then your own attachment has a bad idea.
In the football regional league west, the game between the second team of 1. FC Köln and Rot-Weiss Oberhausen was canceled after a pitch attack. At the time of the demolition in the 89th minute, FC were leading 4-1 and were on the verge of their first win of the season, before their own supporters apparently provoked the confusion that ultimately brought the game to an early end.
As the fanzine Geissblog and later local media reported, three Cologne fans “disguised themselves as stewards or Cologne substitutes,” as Rot-Weiss Oberhausen said in a statement, approached the RWO fan block and then stole a fence flag. “Then those Cologne spectators ran onto the pitch while the game was still going on. These incidents resulted in more people entering the pitch, which is why the referee had to stop it,” while players and officials from both teams tried to prevent an escalation.
FC coach Mark Zimmermann energetically told his own fans to get off the field as soon as possible. But both teams and the team of referees quickly said goodbye to the changing rooms, and the police escorted both fan bases back to their blocks. According to their own statements, the police prevented major clashes in front of the Franz Kremer Stadium after the game.
Twenty minutes after teams and referees left the field, the decision was finally announced: the game will not be continued. The impulse for the demolition is said to have come from the guests from Oberhausen, after the rumor had apparently spread in the meantime that the game would be played to the end in camera.
“I noticed that apparently people who belong to a fan group of 1. FC Köln stole a flag from our fans,” said RWO sports director Patrick Bauder after the game. “I can’t say whether it was exactly like that in the end, but that was my perception. So the club and the players decided that safety was no longer guaranteed under these circumstances.”
1. FC Köln sharply condemned the incident: “We will discuss the background and condemn any form or disregard for respectful interaction and fair sporting behavior. We feel sorry for all real fans who have seen a great game up to then and for ours Guys who were close to their first win of the season.” The Bundesliga club’s U21s had previously only picked up one point from three games. How the game is now rated is now a matter for the sports courts of the West German Football Association, RWO now wants to “seek legal advice” and “evaluate what options exist,” said the club.
