“No racist statement liked”
Regional league clearly rejects racism allegations
03.09.2025 – 06:33 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Fortuna Düsseldorf had made serious allegations against Fortuna Cologne. Now the association defends itself in a detailed statement.
After the regional league game between Fortuna Cologne and the U23 of Fortuna Düsseldorf, there is a serious accusation in the room – but the accused club rejects him. Fortuna Cologne emphasizes that after an internal examination, there would have been no evidence of racist insults by a Cologne player.
“Based on all the information collected and impressions, there are no indications that a statement with a racist background has fallen on the part of our player,” said the club. One refers to a clear position: “SC Fortuna is clearly and uncompromising against racism.”
The game on Saturday had come to an end with a 3-2 win for the Cologne team. However, the result was overshadowed by the message from Düsseldorf. There it was said: “At yesterday’s regional league game of our U23 against Fortuna Cologne, a player in our team was racially insulted by a Cologne player.” The player affected was so shaken that he could not continue the game. The what happened was “nothing to justify”.
Cologne now announced that the internal examinations had been carried out in detail and with the necessary seriousness. Detailed conversations were “held with all the people involved, especially with the player in question and the teammates who were directly involved in the game situations,” it said in a message. In addition, “the topic was openly addressed and processed” openly within the team “. And: “In this specific case, we see the matter internally.”
Managing Director Niklas Müller emphasized: “We stand for a respectful and equivalent coexistence. It is all the more important to pursue every allegement, we have done that. After intensive processing, we are convinced that no racist statement has fallen in this case.”