Schalke will play a test match in Ulm on Friday. This time, however, the test will not be seen live on the internet. Fans are astonished.
Club football is in the international break, but many professional clubs don’t just leave it to training sessions during this time. FC Schalke 04 will play a test match at SSV Ulm on Friday. Kick-off at the Donaustadion is at 6.30 pm.
The clash with last year’s Regionalliga Südwest champions is a rematch of the DFB Cup second round match from the 2020/2021 season. As is customary in this competition, the club with the lower ranking usually enjoys home advantage. However, due to the Corona pandemic and the associated conditions, the match was played in Gelsenkirchen shortly before Christmas and Schalke won 3:1.
High ticket prices, no stream
Both clubs had agreed at the time that S04 would play a test match in Ulm in return in the future. This plan is now being put into practice. So far, so normal. But shortly after the announcement, the first criticism was voiced. The reason was the high ticket prices. Now there is further head-shaking, because instead of being broadcast on the club’s own Youtube channel, as has been customary in the recent past, the game against Ulm will not be broadcast either. Only those who travel to Ulm will see the game.
In the social media, this caused discussions – and one or two irony-soaked comments. “I just think that when they say: I just think it’s fine and normal when you say ‘out of the public eye’ because you want to train secret things. Then that’s perfectly fine and normal. But not offering a stream because of incompetence or money-saving reasons as the third-largest club in Germany in terms of members is amateurish,” wrote a user on X, once Twitter.
Mingling with similar comments were responses that pointed to the recent performances of the Schalke team. “After the last few weeks, I don’t want to see it either,” one user commented. “They don’t want to put us through the misery,” another. “Better safe than sorry…” wrote another and one asked, “How does that go down with fans? Afraid of Ulm? Do I have to understand that?” Others reacted rather indifferently: “Who wants to see that? Honestly, this is a test in which no one gives 100% anyway!”