Bottle throwing in Düsseldorf
Fortuna’s free party with a flaw: Lautern examines protest
Kaiserslautern’s Ragnar Ache was hit in the head by a plastic bottle. photo
© Roland Weihrauch/dpa
For Fortuna Düsseldorf, the spectacle against Kaiserslautern offers the perfect dramaturgy for the first free game – actually. A possible protest from the guests could spoil the party.
Seven goals, a crazy comeback, a great atmosphere and tens of thousands of euphoric people – and all for free. But after the almost perfect football evening at the first game with free entry, Fortuna Düsseldorf is threatened with an aftermath of the big party. 1. FC Kaiserslautern is considering… Throwing a bottle against striker Ragnar Ache in the turbulent 3:4 (3:1) led to a protest.
If the incident hadn’t happened in the 32nd minute in the second division top game when the score was 3-0 for the guests, the happiness of Fortuna’s players, fans and those responsible after the comeback would have been even greater than it already was. The dramaturgy of the spectacular game in front of 52,000 spectators in the fully occupied arena virtually exceeded the club’s expectations for the first of three free games this season. With these, the Rhinelanders want to open up completely new sponsorship opportunities.
“These are extraordinary days. You can’t imagine it like that,” said sports director Klaus Allofs, who said he experienced the most emotional moment in a positive sense since returning to his home club three years ago. “I said before that it was important that we play a good game and inspire people. And of course that came true 100 percent today.”
Fortuna’s keeper and captain Florian Kastenmeier spoke of “an evening for the history books”: “That’s outstanding,” said Kastenmeier. “Praise to everyone for really coming and filling the place. Transferring a great feeling to the pitch. It’s a great evening tonight.”
Throwing bottles as a party crasher
However, that could still have repercussions. After Lauterer’s third goal by ex-Fortune Marlon Ritter (32nd minute), Ache collapsed when hit by a plastic bottle. Instead of the planned football festival, the event threatened to end very bitterly.
With regard to the bottle throwing, Allofs spoke of the “complete nonsense of this act” and Fortuna coach Thioune remarked: “That was certainly not beneficial for ‘Fortuna for all'” – that’s the name of the ambitious free game project for which the club has sponsors to collect around 40 million euros over five years. It’s hard to imagine what the response would have been if the game had been abandoned. Fortuna announced that it would do everything possible to identify the thrower.
Ache was able to continue playing at least until he later injured his ankle, the game continued and ended. Maybe even because of the interruption. “The incident gave me the opportunity to bring the team together,” admitted Thioune. Shortly afterwards, the quick goal came from the outstanding Ao Tanaka.
FCK coach Dirk Schuster made it clear that he recognized Düsseldorf’s performance and what he would think of a possible protest. “The fact is that we lost on the pitch in terms of sport. Everything else has to be clarified by other people,” said Schuster. Nevertheless, the people of Lauter want to keep all options open. “We have to consult,” said managing director Thomas Hengen.
A possible protest could have serious sporting consequences for Düsseldorf, whose victory brought them within two points of the top duo St. Pauli and Hamburger SV. The evening of Fortuna is no longer emotional and should help to attract further sponsors for the “Fortuna for all” project.
The goal is to be able to offer more than three games per season with free entry for everyone in the future. The force of the fully occupied stadium, together with the financial income generated, should help the club achieve promotion and establish itself in the Bundesliga. “That gave us such energy. That’s where we want to go. Everything else is not enough if you want to go up,” said Allofs.