In the 3-1 win in Nice
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Matthias Ginter had never experienced anything like that before. At least not in professional football. “I look at my friends in the district league every now and then. Sometimes it happens that the ball isn’t inflated,” said the SC Freiburg defender on “RTL”. Flat balls in the district league, sure, but in the Europa League? That shouldn’t happen that often, but it was the case in Breisgauer’s 3-1 win in Nice. The ball had to be replaced three times in the first half hour because it didn’t have the necessary pressure. “That was bizarre,” said Ginter.
And referee Tasos Sidiropoulos saw it that way too. Shortly after Freiburg’s equalizer by Johan Manzambi (29th minute), the referee, visibly annoyed, rushed towards the dugout to complain to the French kit manager. “He said a ball sack wasn’t inflated and unfortunately it was scattered around the field. Apparently they inflated it at halftime,” Ginter continued. But that didn’t hurt the SC. Shortly afterwards, Vincenzo Grifo (39th/foul penalty) and Derry Scherhant (42nd) ensured the final score.
The fact that the Freiburg team had to do without the loud singing of their traveling supporters had no effect on the game. They remained largely silent in protest against what they saw as the disproportionate actions of the police in Nice. “I always understand our fans,” Grifo said after the game. “But you don’t really notice it during the game.” With ten points from four games, the Breisgauers are currently in second place in the Europa League table.