2. Bundesliga soccer
Spit in the eye: Sports court bans professional from FC Erzgebirge Aue for seven months
Referee Nicolas Winter shows Aues Clemens Fandrich the red card
© Hendrik Schmidt / DPA
Harsh sentence for Clemens Fandrich: At seven months, the football professional was banned by the DFB sports court for an exceptionally long time. The reason: He spat in the eye of an assistant referee. The player denies an intention.
The sports court of the German Football Association has ruled hard against Clemens Fandrich from second division FC Erzgebirge Aue. The 30-year-old was banned for seven months on Thursday, but can appeal to the DFB Federal Court within a week.
“The court had no doubts about the depiction of assistant referee Roman Potemkin, who testified that the player spat in his right eye in the 89th minute of the second division game against FC Ingolstadt on October 22, 2021, which Fandrich himself denies “, it said in a message from the DFB. The sequence of movements in the scene supports the portrayal of Potemkin.
The player wants to appeal
“Unfortunately, that was a sobering experience. The sports court assumes an assault and has imposed a sentence of between six months and two years, a seven-month ban. I do not agree with the result in any way,” said Aues board member and lawyer Kay Werner. It is an absolutely unacceptable sentence and one will “exhaust the legal remedies available to us”.
Fandrich vehemently denied having deliberately spat on the assistant. The midfielder had already missed the 1-1 draw in Hanover. Werner had announced at “Tag24”: “In the event of a sentence above the suspension that Clemens Fandrich served against Hanover, we will consider going to the DFB Federal Court or, if necessary, an ordinary court.” He immediately announced the going to the federal court on Thursday.