For Grüll and Co.
©IMAGO
On Monday evening, the Senate 1 of the Austrian Bundesliga announced its verdicts for Rapid Vienna regarding the events after the Vienna derby: it imposed drastic penalties for members of the staff and the player squad.
Managing director Steffen Hofmann, who called Austria “assholes” after the game, was banned from playing for a month due to “defamation” and was given a further month on a two-year probation. Assistant coach Stefan Kulovits, who, together with some players, sang about the opponent as “oaschwoam”, was excluded for two months due to “discrimination”. Like Hofmann, he also received another month of probation until 2026. Kulovits must also have an anti -Attend discrimination workshop.
In addition to Hofmann and Kulovits, five Hütteldorfer players were banned before the decisive championship game against Austria Klagenfurt: The longest bans were given to Guido Burgstaller and Marco Grüll, who, like Kulovits, both took part in the homophobic chants. The two ÖFB national players were banned for three games and were given a further three-game ban on probation until 2026. They also have to attend a workshop.
Thorsten Schick was also banned for discrimination; he received a ban of two games and a further three on probation. The right-back also has to attend a workshop, as do central defenders Maximilian Hofmann and Niklas Hedl, who were each suspended for one game including one game on probation. In contrast to their teammates, Hofmann and Hedl were only prosecuted for “violating the idea of fair play”.
Rapid itself was punished with a conditional deduction of three points, and the club’s probation also runs for a total of two years.
The Senate justified the decision as follows: “The Austrian Football Bundesliga is committed to the fight against discrimination of all kinds. The role model effect of footballers, coaches and officials goes beyond what happens on the green grass. The content of the videos is in no way consistent with the values that football as a whole and the Austrian Football Bundesliga in particular stand for. Both SK Rapid and the players have credibly stated that they are very sorry for the events. Senate 1 recognized this accordingly when assessing sentences by imposing partial sentences on all those involved. It should be emphasized, however, that the prescribed range of penalties for discriminatory statements or actions, on the one hand, documents the seriousness of the offense and, on the other hand, also makes clear the intention of the football legislature that such incidents must be decisively prevented. SK Rapid’s catalog of measures was assessed just as positively as the players’ willingness to actively participate in such awareness-raising workshops.”
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