Little went well at FC Schalke 04 this year. After relegation from the Bundesliga, the second division team is stuck deep in the bottom of the table despite high ambitions. And now a Christmas greeting to the fans really backfired. Reason for the anger of the S04 supporters. The merchandising situation at the Revierklub.
As table 14th. FC Schalke 04 ended the sporting year in the 2nd Bundesliga with just three points behind the relegation zone, which leads towards the 3rd league.
Karel Geraerts’ team, who took over from the dismissed Thomas Reis at the end of September, only collected 20 points in the first half of the season. Far too little for the demands of the club and the supporters, who would ideally like to return to the upper house immediately. No wonder that the Schalke fan soul is currently badly damaged.
But that’s not enough. The Royal Blues themselves caused further trouble during the winter break and added fuel to the fire with an originally well-intentioned Christmas greeting. The trigger: an actually harmless posting on social media.
Two blue hearts and a Christmas tree could be seen there as emojis. Below is a picture with the words “Merry Christmas” and a Christmas tree made from twelve home jerseys plus two more that form the trunk. On top is the mascot Erwin as a star.
The jersey Christmas tree causes discontent
The problem: There have been no home jerseys in the usual sizes in the S04 fan shop for weeks – only S and XXXL are available. Many fans have also been waiting for the jerseys they ordered months ago for a long time. The fact that the social media department planted the Christmas tree in question from the rare commodity caused frustration.
Mockery on the internet: Schalke jerseys maybe for Easter?
“Oh, those are nice jerseys! Can you buy them somewhere?” commented a user on X (formerly Twitter) with a sarcastic undertone. Another wrote: “No jerseys in the shop for months, missed the entire Christmas business even though many people would have been happy about this special jersey and then a photo like that? That’s embarrassing, sorry.”
Among the many negative voices, there were only a few users who were surprised by the excitement. Some took it with humor: “Oh, Erwin the rascal has the jerseys. Well then, Merry Christmas. Maybe Erwin will release the jerseys for Easter.”