After the unsuccessful start of the campaign match day against discrimination, RB Leipzig’s coach Marco Rose first demonstratively praised the Cologne fans.
“It’s always fun to play here, in front of these fans in this stadium,” said Rose in his opening statement after RB’s 5-1 win, without initially going into detail about the incidents. But the questions about the hate chants against East Germany and the throwing of bottles came naturally. The German Football League had actually called for a “sign against discrimination and for social cohesion” for the 26th matchday.
“I’m here to unite and not to divide,” Rose answered in an explanatory manner and launched a fiery appeal for understanding within Germany. “The people who don’t know it so well over there should come,” said the coach, who was born in Leipzig during the GDR era. “There are a lot of cool people there. Like here. There are a few idiots. Like here. So in the end everything is actually very, very similar. That’s why we tore down the wall at some point, including in our heads.”
“Such chants don’t work at all”
In the end, it’s “important that we try to classify it. It’s clear that I don’t approve of it. But at some point it’s 4:1 or 5:1, it was an emotional game, different people go there. It has to “We don’t read too much into it.” He also emphasized: “A lot of people out there have the right posture and attitude. We should pull ourselves up from them, and maybe the others should correct them a little too.”
Leipzig’s national player David Raum, who did not hear the chants on the pitch, also did not want to dramatize the issue. “Cologne has great fans. When chants like that come up, I don’t know what to say,” he said: “But we answered on the pitch today. That’s more important than messing with the fans.”
Cologne’s managing director Christian Keller was visibly unpleasant about the incidents, beyond the regular anti-RB posters. “We also had an anti-discrimination game day today. That makes you all the more wondering what’s going on in one or other person’s head,” he said. “Such chants are not acceptable. It’s only a minority. But it’s a shame that this minority exists.”
Glass bottle narrowly missed room and Xavi
The Cologne fans had gone beyond their displeasure with the RB construct, which they always expressed in posters, because they felt provoked by the Dutchman Xavi Simons by his celebration after the 0-1 lead in the 15th minute. But Rose denied this. “He always runs to the corner flag after goals. The place was unfortunate. But he had no bad intentions at all and didn’t want to provoke anyone. He cheered into the cameras rather than towards the fans,” he assured.
“Why a glass bottle flies onto the pitch is the more appropriate question,” added Rose, referring to a scene during an RB corner in the 42nd minute, when a small bottle narrowly missed space and Xavi. “When he hits someone, whether someone in a white or blue jersey, it hurts.” Meanwhile, Keller announced that he wanted to identify the bottle thrower: “I hope we find some video and can pull him out.”
The 20-year-old Xavi is “a young guy with a lot of talent who always causes trouble for many fans,” said colleague Raum: “They always want to provoke him, distract him Coach grabbed him. We said we were behind him. And the referee also did a great job and protected him again and again.”
