After Wuppertaler SV’s defeat at FC Büderich in the Lower Rhine Cup, riots broke out. Sports director Thomas Richter commented on the issue once again.
The quarterfinal in the Lower Rhine Cup was a disaster for Wuppertaler SV. Not only did they lose 1-0 to FC Büderich in the final minutes of the game, but some WSV fans in attendance rioted after the game and clashed with the police.
David Burkhardt, press spokesman for the city of Meerbusch, reported the extent of the damage to the Wuppertaler Rundschau newspaper. “Forty-four grandstand seats were kicked in and will have to be replaced at a cost of €1,672. The police operation damaged a section of turf, which will have to be repaired at a cost of around €200.”
Added to this is the dismantling of the old seats and the installation of the new ones, which is estimated to cost €484, as well as two broken windows on the side of the grandstand. These are safety glass windows, the cost of which is still being determined, as is the cost of a torn-down cistern in the men’s toilet.
The club is in talks with Wuppertaler SV officials regarding the costs. The club posted another video on YouTube in which sporting director Thomas Richter commented on the incidents.
“It was a terrible day for us in every respect, both in terms of the game and what happened afterwards. The damage to our image is already enormous. Things like this spread incredibly quickly through the press and social media. We have already published a statement. It is very important to us to thoroughly investigate the matter,“ Richter emphasized once again, but also noted: ”We don’t want to jump to conclusions.”
Overall, however, the sporting director made it clear once again that WSV would not tolerate such behavior. “The behavior was contrary to the values of the club. We will be dealing with this in the coming days and weeks.” Nevertheless, Richter emphasized the good cooperation with the Wuppertal fan scene, which is not expected to change. “We have had constructive dialogues with the fan project in the past. I don’t want to get to the point where we have to break that off. It wasn’t all the fans. I was there and tried to de-escalate the situation. We have to make a distinction here. I am far from lumping all Wuppertal fans together.”
On the sporting front, the next game is on Saturday (November 22, RS live ticker) against Fortuna Düsseldorf’s U23 team. Kick-off at the Stadion am Zoo is at 2 p.m.