GSV Moers has been relegated from the Lower Rhine regional league. The team has been withdrawn. Here are the implications for the promotion and relegation battle.
The rumors had been circulating for some time, and on Monday they were confirmed: GSV Moers is withdrawing its first team from the Lower Rhine regional league with immediate effect and is confirmed as relegated.
This decision could be decisive in the promotion and relegation race. All games played will be canceled, and all teams that had won against GSV Moers will have the three points deducted again. The teams that missed out on beating GSV can rejoice. Sports director Patrick Iwersen resigned in November, and coach Dirk Warmann had already thrown in the towel weeks earlier. Iwersen told the NRZ at the time: “At some point, there was an imbalance between what I expected and what I got in return.”
Initially, GSV officials emphasized that the team, which was in the midst of a relegation battle, would continue to play in the Landesliga beyond the winter break. However, when more than 15 players announced their departure during the winter break, the withdrawal had long been expected in the soccer scene. In addition, the club had to cut costs, which also led to the departure of players.
The news from Moers is likely to have been met with great joy, especially by leaders VfB Bottrop and second-placed SV Scherpenberg. Bottrop had only managed a 1-1 draw against Moers in the first half of the season, while Scherpenberg had lost 4-0. Now these two slip-ups are obsolete. The main loser is ESC Rellinghausen, previously third in the table, who had beaten Moers 2-1. Rellinghausen and fourth-placed SV Budberg therefore lose three points, while VfB Bottrop gains one and SV Scherpenberg even gains three points.
Rellinghausen’s coach Sascha Behnke had already anticipated the decision, but there is one thing he cannot understand: “There’s no point in getting upset. But the question is whether it’s so clever on the part of the association to let a team play until the winter break and then deduct the points again. Everyone played against them, everyone had the chance to score points against them. Why not just leave the points in?”
In the table, this means that VfB Bottrop now has 40 points and is three points ahead of SV Scherpenberg. Rellinghausen now has 33 points, Budberg and Mintard 30. The significance of GSV Moers’ withdrawal in the relegation battle At the bottom of the table, Sportfreunde Niederwenigern can be happy, even if they will now have no game this coming weekend due to the withdrawal. Niederwenigern lost 2-3 to GSV Moers in the first leg. A result that now doesn’t matter. The decision is more bitter for PSV Wesel-Lackhausen and FC Kray, who will now have three points deducted. SG Essen-Schönebeck, Rhenania Bottrop, and Mülheimer FC will each lose one point. In the table, this means that Rhenania Bottrop remains at the bottom with only four points. Hamborn 07 is in second-to-last place with 16 points, Wesel is in the last direct relegation spot with twelve points. FC Kray is in the relegation spot with 14 points. Ahead of them are Niederwenigern and SG Essen-Schönebeck with 16 points and Mülheimer FC with 17 points.