What turbulent days for Chemie Leipzig! Two players have been convicted, the club pleads self-defense. An experienced newcomer has arrived. But first things first.
Regional league club Chemie Leipzig will not accept the suspension imposed on player Julian Weigel by the sports court of the North East German Football Association (NOFV) and will appeal the ruling. After the goalless draw at Halleschen FC on September 12, Weigel physically defended himself when home fans stormed the pitch and was suspended for five games for his behavior. “With this scandalous ruling, the NOFV is sending a fatal signal and effectively declaring players fair game,” according to a press release from Leipzig. As soon as the ruling is available in writing, the club will lodge an appeal. The NOFV sports court justified the drastic punishment by stating that Weigel had taken several meters of run-up to stop the HFC fans. This meant that the player had contributed to the altercations, said NOFV judge Steffen Tänzer. Chemie, on the other hand, argues that both Weigel and Valon Aliji, who has been suspended, acted in self-defense against the charging and partially masked supporters. “In a highly emotional and extremely confusing situation, in which our team was left unprotected on the field by the police and security services, Julian Weigel was right to recognize the threat to his teammate from an opposing fan,” the statement said.
Leipzig considers the verdict “disproportionate and unrealistic, and the verbal reasoning highly questionable,” and believes that the roles of perpetrator and victim have been reversed: “In order to protect his teammate, he felt compelled to act quickly. To do so, he brought the attacker down by pushing him with both hands.”
But there is also some positive news. Nils Lihsek is transferring to Leutzscher Holz with immediate effect. The 26-year-old all-rounder, most recently active at Chemnitzer FC and then without a club, signed a contract with the Green-Whites until the end of the season.
The 26-year-old left-back has already played a total of 165 games in various regional leagues. However, he will not be able to fill the gap left by Weigel in attacking midfield.