GiveMeSport
·23 December 2021
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·23 December 2021
A professional football match in Germany was abandoned on Sunday after racist abuse aimed at a player from an individual in the stands.
Duisburg welcomed Osnabruck to MSV-Arena for their clash in the 3.Liga.
The game was halted in the 33rd minute when a racist comment from from the stands was directed at Osnabruck winger Aaron Opoku.
The away side were furious and walked off the pitch in protest. The culprit was identified and thrown out of the ground.
The game was abandoned 45 minutes after the incident occurred. It is the first time a professional game in Germany has been abandoned due to a racist incident.
View a video of the moment below, courtesy of Twitter account @dw_sports.
Michael Welling, Osnabruck's CEO, revealed after the game that Opoku did not want to resume the game and his teammates understood his decision.
He said: "Aaron [Opoku] wasn't in a position to continue playing after the incident. He couldn't carry on, nor would he have wanted to. The team recognised that and expressed their solidarity.
"We don't want to print anti-racism on T-shirts or just brand around slogans. If you really take this seriously, then you have to act accordingly."
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While Duisburg President Ingo Wald was furious about the actions of the individual.
"That is basically always a minority," he told MagentaSport. "However, this minority may destroy football. Every fan should stand behind the fact that something like this is not proper!"
Both sides asked for the game to be replayed. BILD have reported that the DFB sports court have agreed for it to be re-scheduled but a date has not yet been set.
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