The Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick will not be allowed to play their Westphalia Cup quarter-final against Preußen Münster at home. There is now a new venue.

Last year, Spvgg. Erkenschwick knocked Preußen Münster out of the Westphalia Cup. The score was 5:4 in the round of 16, Erkenschwick was able to use its home advantage. It was not until the final that the promoted Oberliga side were defeated by FC Gütersloh.

The two traditional clubs will now meet again in the quarter-finals. Erkenschwick was looking forward to another thrilling home game. But the police threw a spanner in the works.

A new solution has now been found, as Erkenschwick announced on Wednesday evening that home rights have been swapped. A press release states: “It’s now official: the home game in the Westphalia Cup against Preußen Münster, which was originally scheduled to be played at the Stimberg Stadium, will now take place at the stadium on Hammer Straße in Münster. The FLVW has now changed the home ground after the Recklinghausen police expressed safety concerns. The match will now kick off on Saturday, 18.11.2023 at 13:00.”

Nobody at Stimberg will be happy about this, as Erkenschwick had issued a press release prior to the decision. It stated: “For us as a club, the withdrawal of home rights means massive cuts in the economic and perspective area, which are very painful. It is the job of the police to assess the security situation, and we absolutely respect that. However, we would have liked to have seen much more willingness for a discussion and an alternative solution. We feel that we have been presented with a fait accompli without any chance of influencing the process. We would like to address the following words to our fans: We understand the displeasure and anger (we are no different). However this game is played out, we would like to appeal to you to support us as a club and our boys in a sporting manner. A boycott of the game will only increase the economic damage and our team has truly earned the support through their great performances, which made such a game possible in the first place. Cheer on our boys and behave in an exemplary manner.”

Overview of the Westphalia Cup quarter-finals

Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 7 p.m.

SV Lippstadt 08 – RSV Meinerzhagen

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 7 p.m.

DSC Arminia Bielefeld – SV Rödinghausen

SC Verl – SG Wattenscheid 09

Saturday, November 18, 2023, 1:30 pm

SC Preußen Münster – SpVgg Erkenschwick