Scandal in the 3rd division - Now it is known what the Duisburg audience shouted: "You monkey ..."

Created: 12/21/2021, 09:59 AM

From: Alexander Kaindl

A racism scandal shakes the 3rd division.

The game between Duisburg and Osnabrück was canceled.

Now new details come to light.

Duisburg - It is an absolute low point for German football: During the third division game between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück, a spectator racially insulted a player.

The game was then canceled, the incident has been the number one topic of conversation in football Germany ever since.

The only bright spot: The behavior of the many other spectators, the unity of the clubs and the decision of the referee to make an example here and not whistle any more.

There was a lot of praise and recognition from politics and sport.

In the meantime, both MSV and VfL have spoken out.

Racism scandal in the 3rd division: MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück take a stand

In a joint statement, the two clubs have spoken out in favor of repeating the game. "Yesterday a clear signal was sent against racism," said Duisburg's President Ingo Wald on Monday. “Together with VfL, however, we would also like football to leave this situation as a winner and not as a loser. That is why we consider a repetition game in the sense of sport to be the only correct decision. "

What happened?

The Osnabrück player Aaron Opoku was racially insulted by a Duisburg spectator on Sunday.

It is said to have been a 55-year-old, who is now being investigated.

Other fans had helped identify the man.

As the first game in one of the three German professional leagues *, the duel between the two traditional clubs was first interrupted and then canceled for xenophobic reasons.

"In terms of sports law, the responsibility for the further procedure lies initially with the relevant instances of the German Football Association," says the statement from both clubs.

MSV Duisburg - VfL Osnabrück: Spectators apparently shouted: "You monkey can't shoot corners anyway!"

According to the Duisburg police, the investigation is ongoing. “The accused has made a statement. In addition, videos are viewed and other witnesses are questioned, "said a police spokeswoman. The aim is to check whether - as indicated by the referee - there were also monkey noises. The police immediately filed a complaint. Insult can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to a year.

However, according to the police, there are also witness statements that “another player was meant”.

Accordingly, not Aaron Opoku, but VfL teammate Florian Kleinhansl would have been the target of the abuse.

Like Opoku, the defender had been near the corner flag.

According to the Duisburg police, citing testimony from witnesses, the accused is said to have shouted: "You monkey can't shoot corners anyway!"

Racism is still widespread in European football

There are still a number of incidents of racism in football, also in other countries.

In Italy there have been monkey noises repeatedly in the recent past, and Hungarian viewers even caused several scandals during the European Championship in summer 2021.

In England, the shooters of the penalty drama in the European Championship final were insulted and even threatened - a new low.

In individual cases, the teams on the field reacted with the closed corridor into the cabins - as is now the case in Duisburg.