When the game was already decided, a small crowd of fans made a negative impression. During the second half of the semi-finals in the DFB Cup between SC Freiburg and RB Leipzig, beer mugs and coins flew out of the hosts’ block onto the field, and a coin hit RB professional André Silva in the head. The striker, who was preparing for his substitution, was able to get up again after a moment of shock, but the incident was the low point for Freiburg. Because in the game they had no chance at 1:5 (0:4).
“It was a cup atmosphere, I think it was still a great atmosphere here,” said Leipzig coach Marco Rose on ZDF. “The fact that there are always two or three idiots in a stadium with really great fans is something you probably see quite often in football,” says Rose. “That has no place here,” said Freiburg’s sports director Jochen Saier on Sky. “It doesn’t matter what came before. That sucks. That doesn’t belong here. We can only apologize for that.”
Especially since the crowd rebelled when the game was long lost from the hosts’ point of view. In the repeat of the final from the previous season, Dani Olmo (13th minute) gave the guests the lead. The Spanish international then set up the goals for Benjamin Henrichs (14′), Dominik Szoboszlai (37′) and Christopher Nkunku (45′) before Szoboszlai scored the final with a penalty (90′). RB defender Josko Gvardiol saw the red card in the 58th minute after video evidence of an emergency brake, but Freiburg only managed the consolation goal from Michael Gregoritsch (75th).
It was the Austrian in the service of the SC who pushed some spectators who had already advanced towards the field back into the block. “They come in, it’s no use to anyone,” explained Gregoritsch. “Then we are responsible for ensuring that they go back. They are there for the club, then they jumped over the fence, but didn’t go any further. That shouldn’t be, it was resolved relatively quickly anyway.”
The safety of the players comes first, said referee Sven Jablonski. “When a player showed me that objects were thrown onto the pitch, I spontaneously decided to protect the players and change the substitute sides so that Leipzig didn’t continue to warm up to the Freiburg fan block. That’s why there was a longer break because safety comes first.”
