The last match day in the third division also saw the debuts of two former Rot-Weiss Essen players. The consequences are likely to be serious for both of them.
Ekin Celebi had certainly imagined his debut in the 1. FC Schweinfurt jersey differently. The player, on loan from Rot-Weiss Essen, played for 70 minutes in the promoted team’s 3-2 win at FC Ingolstadt.
Celebi should have played longer, but was not allowed to. After a foul by FCI pro Lukas Fröde on Celebi, the latter reacted indignantly. According to the “Main-Post” newspaper, he allegedly insulted Thomas Stein, the fourth official, on the sideline with the words “Are you disabled?”
Now the punishment has followed: the Essen player, who has a contract with RWE until summer 2027, has been suspended for three games by the DFB sports court. This means that the 25-year-old left-back will miss the games against MSV Duisburg, 1. FC Saarbrücken, and Alemannia Aachen. Celebi will not be allowed to play again until October 1 in the away game in Ulm.
Speaking of Alemannia Aachen: They lost to SSV Ulm 1846 last weekend. Unlike Celebi, former Essen player Dominik Martinovic celebrated a dream debut in the Ulmer Spatzen jersey.
He scored one goal and set up another – on top of that, he was responsible for Aachen’s Joel da Silva Kiala pulling Martinovic’s jersey in the 22nd minute and being sent off with a red card. That’s what you call a match winner!
But now this: as reported by the portal “dieblaue24,” Martinovic is facing a very long break. There is suspicion of a knee injury. That would be a big shock for Ulm and a huge blow for the rest of the season. In Ulm, the 28-year-old was already well on his way to regaining his former strength from his Mannheim days in the first two weeks.
“Dominik Martinovic has radiated tremendous energy here with us from day one. He played a good game. We are under pressure after a bumpy start. That made the victory in Aachen all the more important. The victory gives us a lot of confidence,” said Ulm coach Robert Lechleiter after the victory in Aachen. Now he will probably have to plan without Martinovic.
