Cristian Fiél talks for more than twelve minutes after Hertha BSC's 1:0 test win against NEC Nijmegen about the state of preparation, positioning and energy consumption. The coach of the second-division soccer club responded to the fan's interjection, "Next year, promotion, right?", with a quick-witted response. "Absolutely!".
However, what really upset the Berliners was not taking place in the Silberstadt Arena in Schwaz in Tyrol, but hundreds of kilometers to the north, between Cottbus and the Charité.
From the Berlin hospital, Hertha's star player Fabian Reese sent an emotional social media statement for more sportsmanship and fairness, against crude hatred and hostility following his serious ankle injury. The third-division soccer club FC Energie, which was directly criticized, did not leave this unanswered, accusing Reese of making a false claim and calling for a "reasonable balance between objectivity and emotionality".
The club did not de-escalate the situation. One thing is certain: The relationship between the two clubs and especially Reese's relationship with Energie can be described as shattered after Filip Kusic's rude and momentous foul. Reese, Hertha's difference-maker, million-dollar fist and emotional leader, will be out for weeks after his foot operation. That's the medical fact.
It is possible that the issue would have been resolved several days after the 2:2 test in Lausitz. A foul, an injury, just soccer. But Reese is someone who speaks his mind and has the ability to articulate it expressively.
"With a few days' distance, I'd like to get something off my chest," he began his comments. "Despite all the emotions, let's not use hatred as an outlet in soccer. Let's whip the teams forward together and against each other and celebrate soccer," he wrote.
Vile abuse from Energie fans
What exactly happened? On his way into the dressing room after the foul, he was massively insulted by the Energie fans, Reese wrote on Instagram. "If you then walk past the opposing fans into the dressing room and get dozens of shouts of "faggot", "son of a bitch" and even worse insults, we are moving away from this framework of values," the 26-year-old noted.
Energie officially apologized for the disparaging words of its fans. The problem has been known at the club for years. The lifestyle of Reese, who paints his fingernails, advocates diversity and is a casual, open-minded guy, is diametrically opposed to the world view of many fans of the Lausitz club.
The core of the conflict: Reese, who was born in Kiel, stands for colourful Berlin, while Energie defends itself against being stigmatized as a problem club. Neither the once again defamatory fan behavior nor the appearance of Kusic, who according to his employer had to endure hate comments on the internet, were helpful in these efforts.
Energie: Quick apology
The Cottbus team were keen to disagree on one point. They could not accept Reese's accusation that there was no apology from Kusic after the clumsy and unnecessary foul. "The FC Energie defender went to Fabian Reese again during the first drink break of the test match to apologize to him personally," the Brandenburgers wrote on their homepage. They wished Reese "another speedy recovery and an even stronger comeback".
Fiél also spoke briefly about Reese during the Q&A session at the Austrian training camp - or rather about several replacement options. Derry Scherhant, Gustav Christensen and Palko Dardai could play on the left wing. "If Fabi isn't fit by then, and he won't be, someone will play in that position," said Fiél with a view to the season opener in two weeks' time. "The competition will be fierce," assured the Hertha coach.
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