Game abandoned at Bochum and Gladbach due to cup throwing: how to proceed

The marketing campaign was as fresh as the beer that Bochum’s captain Anthony Losilla touted in the video. On the occasion of the next step towards normality in the stadium, VfL took on a problem that caused an uproar in the 69th minute in the Bundesliga game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. “Drink, don’t throw!” Losilla demanded, mug in hand. An unidentified fan on the south stand of the Bochum stadium didn’t take the request to heart and threw his drink at the back of the head of assistant referee Christian Gittelmann when the score was 2-0 for Gladbach on Friday evening. After both teams had left the lawn, referee Benjamin Cortus decided to abandon the game.

“In the case of a physical attack on a game official,” there was “no alternative,” said Cortus. “The referee and his team withdrew, discussed things and informed those responsible that they didn’t feel able to start the game again,” said Bochum’s sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz. Gittelmann, who is said to have been after the goal, was taken to the hospital for an examination, accompanied by second linesman Florian Heft. No further information was available shortly before midnight on Friday.

“First and foremost, we have to apologize in all forms for the incident,” said Schindzielorz. “And it’s important that we wish the linesman well on this journey. I hope that he recovers quickly and that nothing is left behind.” The block from which the cup was thrown is on the opposite stand of the Ruhr Stadium not far from the Bochum fan corner, roughly at the level of the edge of the penalty area. It was not only from there that numerous cups had been thrown onto the lawn before the scandal. The stadium announcer had already warned the spectators several times by announcement.

“The focus is now on identifying the perpetrators, the evaluation of the images is still ongoing. VfL hopes for a quick clarification and will actively support the police in their investigations. Anyone who can provide relevant information for identification, please contact the Bochum police station,” said the club on Saturday night. “In the event of an identification, VfL Bochum 1848 will take further steps, such as a stadium ban, expulsion from the club or confiscation of the season ticket, and reserves the right to claim damages. Because we assume that VfL will be punished by the association.”

However, those responsible for both teams were certain that the game would be scored for Gladbach, probably 2-0, as stipulated in the rules of the game. Had Borussia led higher, this result would have been taken. A replay or a rescheduling of the remaining minutes of the game are not legally provided.

An event from 2011 provides a concrete indication of how things should continue: At that time, the DFB had to assess a very similar case, the duel between FC St. Pauli and FC Schalke after 87 minutes with the score at 0: 2 was aborted. Deniz Aytekin’s assistant Thorsten Schiffner, like Gittelmann, was hit by a cup. St. Pauli was initially condemned to a ghost game, finally had to host its next home game more than 50 kilometers from Hamburg and played in front of only 10,000 spectators in Lübeck. The loss of income in St. Pauli is said to have amounted to around 400,000 euros at the time.

“It’s sad that a game has to end like this,” said Gladbach’s temporary head coach Christian Peintinger and sent recovery wishes to the linesman. Borussia went into the dressing room to wait for Referee Cortus’ decision. Then they came out again to thank the fans who had traveled with them. While they didn’t want to miss out on celebrating the likely and, despite the sad circumstances, extremely important away win, Peintinger emphasized that he was not going home with a good feeling.

The Adi Hütter representative nevertheless gave a sporting assessment of the game: “We did well over a longer period of time than against Hertha. We had problems getting into the game at the beginning and made a lot of unnecessary mistakes,” said Peintinger. But then the team got better and the 2-0 lead at the time of the demolition was deserved.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Bochum’s assistant coach Markus Gellhaus, who represented head coach Thomas Reis, who, like Hütter, had Corona, about the incident that overshadowed the sporting side. “It’s just not appropriate,” commented Borussia’s sporting director Roland Virkus on the cup throw. “I think the atmosphere here was good. It’s actually a cool stadium and a cool crowd. Nobody wants that ending. It annoys me that a game ends like this,” said Virkus, before wishing the assistant referee who was hit a speedy recovery. Because this wish stood above everything else on an evening that began with a great atmosphere and ended ugly.

Here is the link to the information: Twitter reactions to Bochum’s cup throw