Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann is back in focus at VfL Bochum on Sunday at Union Berlin. His argument with a fan recently caused a stir.
No other player polarizes like goalkeeper Manuel Riemann at VfL Bochum. The keeper has been the savior on the Westphalia side many times in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga, but then there were games in which the 34-year-old made a mistake. The current season in particular has been like a rollercoaster ride for Riemann.
Last Sunday, the custodian clashed with a VfL fan, climbed into the stands after the final whistle at the 2:3 win against VfB Stuttgart and engaged in a heated exchange of words with the supporter, forehead to forehead.
Bochum players and officials tried to slow him down. Obviously, the VfL professional and his family had been insulted.
“We don’t have to allow ourselves to be insulted personally. We don’t need violence, including verbal violence. That has no place here,” said VfL coach Thomas Letsch, defending his protégé. On Sunday (5:30 p.m.) at Union Berlin, Riemann will be in the spotlight again.
Fan researcher does not see Riemann as an isolated case
René Paasch, sports psychologist and professor at the German University for Health and Sport in Unna, examined and shed light on the Easter Sunday incident.
In the “WAZ” he speaks of a “double emotional effect”: “Riemann was dissatisfied after a defeat and his own mistakes in the game. Then there was this fan who, as we now know, did not become conspicuous for the first time and him not just offended, but wishing his son dead. Clearly a line has been crossed.”
Of course, the goalkeeper could have reacted differently, but emotions play a trick on many a player, especially in the final phase of a season. Riemann is no exception.
“Maybe it’s good that the signal comes that you’re not ready to accept everything,” emphasized the renowned fan researcher Gunter A. Pilz in the “WAZ”.
VfL Bochum wants to stand together in the relegation battle
But how can a repetition of such occurrences be avoided as far as possible? It is probably only in the exchange of players, fans and club officials.
Paasch can imagine a “communication platform”. Kickers and coaches should seek an exchange and possibly find out whether others in the team are experiencing or have experienced something similar. Paasch: “This is the only way to work preventively, to prepare the players.”
After the scandal on Easter Sunday, VfL appealed to the fans in a message: “It’s only possible together!” The club “is committed to its values, which are anchored in the mission statement. This includes treating each other with respect and standing by each other in good and bad phases. Tolerance and fair play are essential elements of our blue-white togetherness”.