Surprising turn
Game abandoned due to racist insult: police say suspicion is off the table
Before the game in the third division between Duisburg and Osnabrück was abandoned: VfL professional Aaron Opoku (left) excitedly informed the referee about racist remarks from the audience.
© Jürgen Fromme / Picture Alliance
In December, a game in German professional football was abandoned for the first time because a player was racially insulted. There was a lot of recognition for that. But now the surprising turn of events: the suspicion has not been confirmed.
“You monkey can’t take a corner either.” When this sentence was shouted from the stands on December 19 during the third division game between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück, the excitement was great. VfL player Aaron Opoku felt directly addressed and racially insulted. The referee reacted and broke off the game – a novelty in German professional football. Both clubs were dismayed, and the demolition was widely welcomed as a clear sign against racism. But now there is a surprising twist in the case. According to the police investigation, the suspicion of racism is probably off the table.
“The investigations have not confirmed the suspicion of the monkey noises according to the police,” said the Duisburg police. The 55-year-old spectator of the game identified as the suspect did not “presumably” mean Opoku from Osnabrück with his statement, but his teammate Florian Kleinhansl. This largely corresponds to the confession made public by the 55-year-old. Evaluations of video recordings and testimonies from players, the referee team, spectators and folders have confirmed this, according to the police. Overall, the investigations resulted in “a clearer picture of the events on the field and in the stands”. The police handed over their findings to the Duisburg public prosecutor’s office, which is now deciding on the procedure.
MSV Duisburg relieved about the results of the investigation
While VfL Osnabrück has not yet officially reacted, MSV Duisburg expressed relief at the results of the investigation in a statement “subject to a final and final assessment by the public prosecutor’s office”. The cosmopolitan concept of the club will not be permanently damaged, it was said. The club thanked its supporters for supporting the investigation with testimonies.
Regardless of the fact that the suspicion was apparently not confirmed in the specific case, racism and racist insults in football have long been a serious problem. “This time it was not appeased, negotiated, calmed down and kicked off again, as is usually the case, but it was made clear that the game cannot continue if players are belittled by spectators because of the color of their skin,” said Philipp Köster, editor-in-chief of the football trade journal “11 Freunde”. , at the time the demolition of the third division game. There have been countless incidents in the past few decades, it is shameful that consequences have only now been drawn in a professional game for the first time.
The canceled game between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück has been rescheduled for February 2nd.
Sources: Duisburg police, Message from MSV Duisburg