Sascha Hildmann has been coach of Preußen Münster for three years. He’s seen a lot since then.

The streak is slowly getting scary. Since taking over as coach of Preußen Münster in January 2020, Sascha Hildmann has experienced a collection of curiosities that others have not experienced in their entire coaching career.

“I’ve experienced everything in Münster. Firecrackers thrown, six substitutions. A match abandoned at Schalke because the alarm (a thunderstorm warning app, editor’s note) went off. I’ve experienced everything. Now I’ve experienced this. So: it’s not boring,” laughed Hildmann in disbelief after the match at BVB U23 was called off on Wednesday evening.

It all started with the DFB Cup match against VfL Wolfsburg in August 2021, which was subsequently adjudged to have been won. Because the Bundesliga club had substituted six players instead of the permitted five, the match was retrospectively awarded to Münster. Preußen progressed to the second round.

This was followed by the legendary abandonment of the match at Hafenstraße in Essen. The match at Rot-Weiss Essen on 20.2. 2022 was abandoned in the second half at 1:1 after a firecracker was thrown from the Essen stands. Several Münster players were injured in the incident and two were subsequently ruled out. The sports court of the West German Football Association awarded the match 2:0 to Münster. In the end, however, RWE was promoted to the 3rd division due to its better goal difference than Münster.

It continues: On October 1, 2022, Münster’s match against FC Schalke 04 U23 was abandoned after 25 minutes with a score of 1:0 for S04 U23 because the thunderstorm warning app in the Parkstadion was activated several times in succession. Münster won the rescheduled match.

And now Dortmund’s match has been called off. “It’s so blatant. Even sitting down there in the booth with the referees, I’ve never experienced anything like it. But it’s always new, always crass,” Hildmann shook his head.

The only good thing is that there is not a great distance between Münster and Dortmund, so he is relaxed about a new start in the new year. “We agreed that it would be nonsense to keep 5,000 people waiting. You have to guarantee safety. And it doesn’t make sense to kick off the game at 10 p.m.,” said the 51-year-old.