2nd Bundesliga
That’s why HSV played with false names on two jerseys
HSV player Jonas Meffert with an incorrectly printed jersey in the Hamburg Volksparkstadion during the game against Holstein Kiel
© Imago
Hamburger SV sent two players with misspelled names to the field in the second division match against Holstein Kiel. But what seemed like an embarrassing mistake had a very good reason.
Some HSV fans rubbed their eyes in amazement on Saturday: In the north derby against second division rivals Holstein Kiel (1: 1), two players from the Hamburg sports club with misspelled names on their jerseys ran onto the grass of the Volksparkstadion.
On the back of number 3, Moritz Heyer and number 23, Jonas Meffert, the names “Heya” and “Meffort” were written. What might have seemed an embarrassing mistake to some viewers at first, was not at all. The Hamburg sports club had intentionally flocked the shirts of its midfield players incorrectly in order to draw attention to reading and spelling disorders (LRS).
HSV passes jerseys on to LRS organizations
“An estimated 6.2 million people in Germany can not or only inadequately read and write,” said the HSV about the campaign. Three million of these people are affected by dyslexia, the reading and spelling disorder. One of the common symptoms is the swapping of letters that sound or look similar.
The aim of the campaign is to sensitize people to the topic and to encourage more tolerance, emphasized the HSV. The jerseys with the wrong names will be handed over to two Hamburg organizations that deal with LRS.
In order to enable fans with LRS to inform themselves independently, the HSV also regularly provides the latest news in Easy Language on its own website, a simplified version of German with short sentences, simple and familiar words and images that support the understanding of the text, wrote the Hamburgers in a statement on the action. Everyone, regardless of any disabilities, illnesses or other individual characteristics, should be able to participate in the HSV on an equal and self-determined basis.