Racist insults against Luc Castaignos dampen mood after 1:1 draw against Holstein-Kiel

After the joy of the last-minute point win against promotion candidates Holstein-Kiel, anger and indignation spread at 1. FC Magdeburg. Racist insults against Luc Castaignos dampened the mood after the 1-1 draw. "Luc is very depressed," coach Christian Titz told MDR on Saturday: "Until now, he has deleted such messages immediately, but this time it really affected him because it was personal."

The elation and happiness after the equalizer by second division debutant Emir Kuhinja, who had only just come on as a substitute, in the fifth minute of stoppage time were gone for the time being. Instead, the club released a statement on Friday evening with a clear message: "Luc, we stand firmly by your side, the entire 1. FC Magdeburg lives diversity and tolerance. Stop racism, take a clear stance against racism!!!"

Castaignos failed to score a penalty against Kiel keeper Timon Weiner in the 52nd minute. After the match, the 31-year-old Dutchman, who has been playing for FCM 1 for just over a year, was racially abused on social media. Castaignos shared a corresponding screenshot on Instagram.

"1. FC Magdeburg condemns these insults in the strongest possible terms and distances itself from the person who wrote these despicable sentences," the club stated and announced that it would consider legal action "so that such behavior is punished". This investigation will therefore take time and be conducted at a different level.

Coach Titz and his team will have to quickly analyze the poor performance in the first half, as Magdeburg will host league leaders 1. FC St. Pauli next Saturday. "I was surprised myself. It was then a matter of us talking about it: How do we want to perform, how do we want to be in our game," reported Titz from the half-time break.

What characterizes Magdeburg's play in good moments - such as in the second half - must work best over 90 minutes against FC St. Pauli. However, their record against the Hamburg side could hardly be worse: Magdeburg have not won any of their eight competitive matches against the Kiez club.

At least Herbert Bockhorn and Daniel Elfadli, two recently suspended players, are available again. Full-back Leon Bell Bell could also return. However, it remains to be seen who will play up front. Especially as Titz has another attacking force at his disposal in the form of last-minute addition Bryan Teixeira. The 23-year-old was eliminated from the Africa Cup with Cape Verde on Saturday evening and was the only one of his team to score in the penalty shoot-out against South Africa.