From the middle of the first half, it was eerily quiet in the Schauinsland-Reisen Arena. The Ultras left the stadium prematurely during the 1-0 defeat to Regensburg.
For over an hour, only the almost 200 Regensburg supporters who had traveled with them could be heard. In the end, they had reason to celebrate. The leaders from Eastern Bavaria won 1-0 at MSV Duisburg and extended their lead in the 3rd division, while MSV Duisburg are now eight points away from the relegation zone.
The lack of support in the Nordkurve was not due to the sporting performance of Boris Schommers’ team, but was probably triggered by a police operation as a result of the protest against the entry of investors in the DFL.
What happened? When the twelfth minute of the game kicked off, countless rolls of toilet paper were thrown onto the field behind the goal and from the opposite end of the stadium. Referee Konrad Oldhafer had to temporarily suspend play. Nothing new in view of the past few weeks in the top three German leagues.
At first, everything went on as usual, but a little later, no more singing could be heard from the MSV corner. Fifteen minutes before the end, the active fan scene left in a hurry, apparently because the perpetrators had been identified. This is certainly questionable in the case of a peaceful form of protest.
The Ultras missed two more good opportunities for their team, while the remaining fans tried to keep cheering on their team with occasional battle cries. But in the end, it wasn’t enough for a sense of achievement against a top team, as it was against Ulm a week ago.
Schommers is unaware of the support
Schommers didn’t notice the silence behind his own goal, as the coach revealed at the press conference. “The only thing I noticed is that my team gave everything until the end and had two chances to equalize.”
The 45-year-old can understand any form of disappointment. “That’s clear. But the team gave 100 percent and wasn’t rewarded. I can understand if individual groups are disappointed. But I believe that the team gave it their all with a lot of passion. You certainly can’t blame them for anything.”
New signing Erik Zenga, who made his debut for MSV in the second half, took a similar view of the incident. “It’s hard to say, I can’t speak for others. But of course it’s a fact that we are where we are in the table for a reason. It’s clear that the fans are dissatisfied. You can’t be blinded by that. What matters is our job and that we perform on the pitch.”