After the third division game between MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrück was canceled, the sports court of the German Football Association can now issue three different judgments.

Depending on the exact circumstances, the game could be rated for both Osnabrück and Duisburg.

The third possible variant is a rescheduling, announced the sports court this Monday.

The game was first interrupted in the 35th minute on Sunday and shortly afterwards completely canceled because the Osnabrück attacker Aaron Opoku was attacked by a Duisburg spectator.

The three-stage plan drawn up by the DFB for the case of racist incidents was implemented.

There had been no game abandonment due to such an incident in the first three German professional leagues.

"Don't just print on T-shirts"

Decisive for the evaluation of the so far unique incident in the three German professional leagues are the statements of those involved. The DFB control committee had already started the investigation on Sunday and asked both clubs and referee Nicolas Winter to comment. If these are available, the sports court will deal with the case. Due to the lack of comparative cases so far, it should be a judgment with a signal effect for German sport.

Meanwhile, the Osnabrück managing director Michael Welling classified the racist incident as a problem for society as a whole and not just for football.

“It's important that we don't talk about VfL Osnabrück or MSV Duisburg at this point.

Rather, we need to address this societal problem as a whole and also fight it.

That is why it was so important to set an example here and show solidarity with our player, ”Welling told the club's VfL TV.

“That is not a location problem.

That could possibly have happened in Osnabrück or at any other location in Germany.

It was therefore important to show that we don't just want to print anti-racism on T-shirts.

It is also important to act if you take it seriously. "

Opoku also received support from numerous other associations in Germany.

Numerous clubs such as Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC or FSV Mainz 05 joined a tweet from VfL Osnabrück with the title “Aaron, we stand behind you!”.

“Racism sucks.

Everywhere! ”Wrote Hoffenheim in 1899.

At SV Werder Bremen one could read: "Clear edge against racism!"

The DFB ambassador and former national player Jimmy Hartwig meanwhile described the abandonment of the third division game as a "very important sign" in the fight against racism.

“The decision to abandon this game was the right one.

By doing something like that, you show that this is no longer possible with us.

We are fed up with you idiots, "said the 67-year-old on Sunday evening on NDR television.

"I expected a game to be abandoned much earlier," said Hartwig.

"Let's see how long it takes for a Bundesliga game to be abandoned."

The son of an American soldier and a German mother was himself a frequent victim of racist abuse during his career at Hamburger SV, 1. FC Köln or 1860 Munich.

Until 2019 he was an integration ambassador, since then he has been the fair play ambassador of the German Football Association.

In Hartwig's opinion, society is currently additionally charged by the Corona crisis, but: “Society is not divided.

We have to distance ourselves from all these unconventional thinkers and stupid thinkers, ”he said.

The reaction of the Duisburg audience to the racist incident made him “positive.

The silent majority is slowly defending itself against these hollow heads.

I think that's great, ”he said