After the chaos game, Mannheim's coach refused to shake hands. When looking for someone to blame for the heated atmosphere, Waldhof officials are focusing on an FCK player.
With the final whistle everything wasn't over and forgotten, quite the opposite. After the emotionally charged southwest derby against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Rui Mota from SV Waldhof Mannheim explained why he refused to shake his coach colleague Torsten Lieberknecht's hand after the DFB Cup game. He was “not a hypocrite,” said the Portuguese after the first-round exit, which was accompanied by tumultuous scenes and a pitch storm. He didn't want to shake Lieberknecht's hand "just because it looked nice in front of the cameras."
After the last-minute goal for a 1-0 win in extra time, the FCK coach approached Mota and held out his hand. The Waldhof coach then attacked Lieberknecht verbally and explained in the press conference: "You have to behave yourself during the game. Afterwards you don't have to come at me with 'well played, we won'. I don't have two faces, just one. I respect everyone. I also drive my team on, and the other side does the same. But threatening someone, that's not the way."
Lieberknecht, who also sat on the podium, did not comment on the incident. All he said was that it was “very, very worthy” of a derby on the pitch. "We all don't want to see what happened around it. That's not understandable either. Rivalry, yes. But the fact that it ends like this is a shame for football."
The situation had previously escalated after 90 goalless minutes in the Carl Benz Stadium when, after the players formed a pack on the pitch, some FCK supporters also shot fireworks into the seating area. Some Mannheim fans then stormed onto the pitch. Mounted police also had to intervene to calm the situation. At times there was a threat of the game being abandoned.
Kaiserslautern's managing director Thomas Hengen found clear words for the events. "It's a derby, emotions are high, but something like that shouldn't get out of hand. It's damaging to us, it's damaging to everyone, it's damaging to football," said the former professional at Sky. For him, the intervention of the police and the careful actions of the referee team were crucial in ensuring that the game was not abandoned.
For Waldhof managing director Gerhard Zuber, “the limit was exceeded”. At the same time, the Austrian and other SVW officials particularly criticized FCK captain Marlon Ritter. "He constantly fired brutal gestures at the bench, that was tolerated. That's how you have a problem," said Zuber, who condemned the fireworks fired by the away fans in the direction of the main stand. "This has to have consequences. It can't be that people are being put at risk."
Ritter himself said it was “probably too much for everyone involved.” When asked about the Mannheim allegations, the 31-year-old also explained: “The Waldhof Bank doesn’t go to church every Sunday.”
Waldhof sports director Matthias Schober also named Ritter as at least accomplice. He was "so provocative and let off steam in front of the main stand. It's not possible for our fans to go onto the pitch. Nevertheless, I have to say, shortly before the end of the game, Ritter took his time and provoked at every corner."
Ritter, whose time management is said to have caused thousands of fans to commit acts of violence, reacted calmly in the direction of former keeper Schober and drilled into his 2001 wound: “If he had hit the ball away back then, Schalke would have been champions.” Schober was the Hamburg goalkeeper at the time and took a back pass in stoppage time in the season finale. Patrik Andersson shot the following free kick into the goal for FC Bayern; Schalke only became “masters of hearts”. Ritter is an avowed Schalke fan.
"That was a very special evening. It was a really great atmosphere. Our fans tore everything down," said Mannheim's captain Lukas Klünter on Sky, before adding: "I'm talking about the game. While the game was going on, it was great. You then have to analyze everything else." Kaiserslautern's goalkeeper Julian Krahl enthused: "We are infinitely grateful for the support we had today, everything else is out of our hands."
Both talked about a game that could only be ended because shortly before extra time, a large part of the 1,400 police forces deployed for the high-risk match deployed with horses, dogs and pepper spray against the rival fan groups in both front stands. Several Mannheim fans had previously run onto the pitch; countless rockets flew and also hit the main stand.
Ultimately, Kaiserslautern won the game 1-0 after extra time. Ibrahim Kanaté scored the decisive goal for the second division club in the 120th minute, a few moments before a possible penalty shootout. If Ritter had his way, the sporty aspect should predominate. “For me, football hasn’t taken a back seat,” he said. "We won the derby. That's what should be in the newspapers on Sunday and Monday, we own the headlines."
