FC Sterkrade 72 were crowned city champions in Oberhausen in a heated final against SC 1920 Oberhausen. The final match was also a source of controversy afterwards.
SC 1920 Oberhausen missed out on defending their title at the 2024 Oberhausen Indoor City Championship by a hair’s breadth. FC Sterkrade 72’s early lead was equalized by the Spielclub players shortly before the end of regular time.
In the end, Sterkrade prevailed 3:2 in a penalty shoot-out. The final between the two teams was characterized by unrest. Both in the stands and on the pitch.
Only three minutes had been played when FC Sterkrade took a 1:0 lead before fisticuffs broke out in the stands. The situation in the packed Willy-Jürissen-Sporthalle was confusing. However, the altercation definitely took place in the block with the SC 1920 supporters.
SC coach Thorsten Möllmann claimed the opposite: “Our block had nothing to do with it. They behaved calmly. It was in the SuS 21 Oberhausen block.”
For the first time since 2020, Möllmann was on the line in the hall. After riots in 2020 during the clash between Arminia Klosterhardt and SC 1920 Oberhausen, the city championship title was revoked from Spielclub 20 and President Möllmann and some players were banned for two years by the officials.
Now the comeback and things got heated again. The arguments in the stands finally calmed down after more than five minutes and things got heated again on the pitch. Deniz Fahri Batman refused to accept a whistle against him and complained vehemently to the referee. He then showed a red card to the club’s best player
“I generally find it extreme how much the referees are allowed to get away with”
Thorsten Möllmann
“In sporting terms, we played in such a way that we really shouldn’t have conceded a goal. But I found some decisions puzzling. When they then give our best man of the tournament a red card even though he’s fouled and no player is allowed to get upset, I can’t understand it any more. I generally find it extreme how much the referees are allowed to get away with,” said Möllmann after the final defeat, complaining in particular about the sending-off.
Möllmann didn’t stop there either and railed against the referees: “The way referees are approached is made public here and there. You stand by them in such a way that some referees take advantage of it. This destroys soccer. Referees are supposed to be fair and that’s what I want to see.”
In the semi-final, a situation shortly before the final whistle against SuS 21 Oberhausen caused a stir and an angry Möllmann, who described the situation with the score at 1:0 for SC as follows: “I’ve never seen an indirect free kick in the semi-final. Goalkeeper’s mistake? I can’t understand that. And then there’s 0.6 seconds left to play, he scores the goal and then the clock starts running again. But we still go through. We were the best team on the pitch, the best team in the tournament and we played well. But they didn’t want SC 20 to become city champions.”
Title coach criticizes aggressiveness and takes shots at other coaches
The coach of the city champions, Patrick Wojwod, took a shot in the direction of Möllmann and Co. after the tournament win: “If you have a big face in the run-up, you have to deliver. That’s clear. It’s easier, especially for the young players. You keep your mouth shut and deliver from game to game. We weren’t good in the first two games. After that, we played good soccer.”
The coach of the Kreisliga A leaders defended the SC team, but criticized the supporters: “The bad thing in the final was that the game was interrupted so often. Does the aggression belong in the hall? Because one thing is for sure, the team from Spielclub was super fair and everything was fine. I’m not going to take anything away from that. But that in the stands is a shame, it disrupts the rhythm. That’s why I went onto the pitch for the last 15 seconds to show that I can do that too. “