News blog about 1. FC Cologne
Not ah! Kwasniok calls “game-deciding factor”
Updated on January 18, 2026 – 12:52 p.mReading time: 17 minutes
1. FC Köln is playing first class again this season. In the news blog on t-online you will find all the important news about the Geißbockheim.
With his two goals, Ragnar Ache has it 1. FC Cologne scored a 2-1 (0-1) win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday afternoon. After the game, coach Lukas Kwasniok identified another crucial factor for the three points: the support of the fans. “The stadium was a decisive factor in the game – we played more like twelve against eleven,” the coach enthused about the atmosphere in Müngersdorf.
At halftime, the spectators in the stands whistled their team farewell to the dressing room when the score was 0-1. “It was fine, a human reaction,” Kwasniok said. In the second half, however, the players again had the loud support of their supporters. “So thanks to the fans and the south curve,” said the FC coach. After the final whistle, we were able to celebrate together again after eight games without a win in a row.
1. FC Köln celebrated its 160,000th on Saturday. Member welcomed into the FC family. Before the game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 kicked off, stadium announcer Michael Trippel, together with President Jörn Stobbe, honored the woman who had last registered with FC and was now the 160,000th. Is a member of the billy goats.
In Germany, FC is in fourth place behind FC Bayern (410,000), Borussia Dortmund (230,000) and FC Schalke 04 (200,000). Most recently, FC was almost on a par with Eintracht Frankfurt. The SGE had around 155,000 members in the summer of 2025.
In November 2011, fans, club representatives, coaches and players waited in vain in the Rheinenergiestadion for the game between 1. FC Köln and 1. FSV Mainz 05 to kick off. The reason: the appointed FIFA referee Babak Rafati had tried to commit suicide in a Cologne hotel. The then 40-year-old Hanoverian was scheduled to referee the Bundesliga match, but did not appear at the stadium.
The game was ultimately canceled. A few days later, Rafati went public and revealed severe depression as the cause of his suicide attempt. Today Rafati also works as an author, speaker and mental trainer. In lectures he talks about burnout, bullying, depression and pressure to perform – and is committed to bringing mental illnesses out of the taboo zone in competitive sports.
