“So low -speed”
To Horrorfoul: racist comments against players
Updated on August 19, 2025 – 9:24 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The bad foul by Kelsey Owusu was the inglorious end of an exciting cup evening. After that, racist comments on social media broke up.
After a hard foul in the DFB Cup game between Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Dortmund, Kelsey Owusu is the focus of the discussion-but not only because of his action on the pitch. The 21-year-old was confronted with numerous racist comments on social media after the district derby.
Owusu had hit Yan Couto with an open sole at the knee height in added time. The Dortmund had to be worn from the field. As a result of the scene, Rot-Weiss Essen was forced to switch off the comment function on Instagram. The club spoke of “violent and sometimes racist insults”.
Essen coach Uwe Koschinat clearly condemned the reactions. Although he described the foul as “unforgivable”, it made it clear that this had nothing to do with the player’s skin color: “But it is not unforgivable because the player is dark -skinned, but because the action is simply shit,” said Koschinat.
Dortmund’s head coach Niko Kovač also commented at the press conference after the game. Previously, he had referred to the foul in the ARD as “an attack”. Now he emphasized: “I also agree: this is sport and it cannot be that someone will send any comments towards this player somewhere.” He also emphasized that such actions would not happen on purpose.
Owusu had personally apologized to Couto after the final whistle in the Dortmund cabin. The BVB professional threatens to fall out, but Kovač gave cautious all-clear: Couto has severe pain, but he was confident that it was “only a very strong bruise”.
Koschinat again criticized the hostility in social networks: “I find it so rustling what comments patter on people in some cases. I find that completely inappropriate,” said the Essen coach. At the same time, he ensured Owusu’s full support of the club.