The last quarter-final in the DFB Cup between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Borussia Mönchengladbach was canceled shortly before the planned kick-off.
The pitch conditions in the Ludwigsparkstadion did not allow the game to be played regularly on Wednesday evening (February 7th, 2024), the German Football Association announced.
Referee Badstübner: “Disastrous situation”
“When you see the pitch, you can’t play on it. The risk of injury was too great for me“, said referee Florian Badstübner shortly after the cancellation: “The place is in a disastrous condition.”
“Saarbrücken tried everything so that we could play. There were a lot of staff on the pitch to somehow clear the pitch of water, but they couldn’t do it.”Badstübner continued: “Then when we were warming up you saw how the players were only warming up in one spot, no matter how broken the pitch was. Then it was clear we couldn’t play.”
Players warmed up
Large puddles of water had formed on the lawn of Saarbrücken’s Ludwigsparkstadion in the pouring rain. Helpers tried to dry the area with leaf blowers, but were ultimately unable to do so sufficiently.
Helpers use leaf blowers to try to get the water out of the pitch in the Ludwigsparkstadion
Referee Badstübner initially sent both teams onto the field to warm up, but the cancellation followed seven minutes before the scheduled kick-off at 8:45 p.m. amid whistles from the fans. The Gladbach supporters fired pyrotechnics that they had brought with them.
“The process was completely fine because you have to try everything. In the district league the game would probably have been canceled much quicker,” said Gladbach’s sports director Roland Virkus: “The guys came in and said there are places that, with the best will in the world, are not possible. And the weather conditions are supposed to get even worse.”
Draw on Saturday
According to the DFB, a catch-up date should be announced as quickly as possible. “Both don’t play internationally, so I think we’ll find a date.”said Virkus. Saarbrücken’s sports director Jürgen Luginger explained: “We’ll try to repeat it as soon as possible. But there’s still rain forecast in the next few days, so I don’t know if next week is an option.”
The draw on Saturday will take place as planned at 11 p.m. in the ZDF sports studio. The pot then includes Bayer Leverkusen, Fortuna Düsseldorf, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and a double draw (Saarbrücken/Mönchengladbach).