Rapid Vienna
Homophobic chants: Werder transfer Grüll is banned for three games
Marco Grüll: Role model function not lived up to
© Eva Manhart / DPA
There were bad chants: Rapid Vienna professionals sang a homophobic song after winning the derby against Austria Vienna. Among them was Marco Grüll, who is moving to Werder Bremen. Now the professional and colleague has been suspended for three games.
The 25-year-old offensive player Grüll, who currently plays for Rapid, and Burgstaller, who played for FC Schalke 04 and FC St. Pauli, insulted derby opponents Austria Vienna with chants after the 3-0 win on February 25th . The executive board of the Austrian club Rapid condemned the players’ chants “in the strongest possible terms.”
Marco Grüll apologized
“The Austrian Football Bundesliga is committed to the fight against discrimination of all kinds,” the ruling said. “The content of the videos is in no way consistent with the values that football as a whole and the Austrian Football Bundesliga in particular stand for.”
Grüll, who is moving to the Weser in the summer, apologized after the scandal. “We as players have a certain role model function and we certainly didn’t live up to that in this situation.” Burgstaller also apologized on Instagram afterwards. Players must attend workshops on discrimination.
From a sporting perspective, the penalties are a serious setback for the club. Rapid has to replace five players in the decisive game for entry into the championship group on Sunday at Austria Klagenfurt. If the offense is committed again in the next two years, the club risks losing three points.