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Hertha players after losing to Union in early April
Photo:
IMAGO/Matthias Koch
The game was won and Berlin had taken a big step towards staying up in the league when Hertha's Kevin-Prince Boateng rounded up his teammates on the lawn of the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
That was shortly after the 2-0 (1-0) win over VfB Stuttgart, a key game in the Bundesliga relegation battle.
Normally, this would now be followed by going into the fan curve.
There, Berlin's players stepped off the pitch, straight into the cabin.
"As a team, we decided not to go to the fans for the time being," said goalkeeper Marcel Lotka afterwards at Dazn.
“It wasn't okay against Union.
I think the sporting thing is the most important thing now, that we get our points for the fans too, that we are a unit,” he continued.
What Lotka meant were the events after the derby defeat against Union (1: 4) in the home game before last.
At that time, defender Maximilian Mittelstädt spoke to the Ultra representatives and then asked his teammates to take off their jerseys.
And so the Berlin pros laid down their jerseys on the tartan track of the Olympic Stadium.
Sharp criticism from Bobic
Hertha managing director Fredi Bobic later clearly criticized the fan campaign.
»Disappointment and frustration after a game like this – all understandable.
But asking the boys to give up the jersey because they are not worthy of wearing this jersey - I think that's crossing a line," said Bobic: "That's not okay."
This time the home game against VfB was apparently free of conflicts between the Berlin team and their supporters.
The course of the game gave no reason to do so either: thanks to the victory over Stuttgart, Berlin is now four points ahead of VfB, who are on the relegation rank.
The lead over the direct relegation zone is six points.
With three remaining Bundesliga games, Berlin's relegation is likely.
mon/dpa