A bottle thrown at striker Ragnar Ache overshadowed 1. FC Kaiserslautern’s dramatic away defeat at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Now it is clear: The Red Devils are not protesting against the rating of the game.
1. FC Kaiserslautern announced on Monday (October 23rd, 2023) that after extensive discussions, despite throwing the bottle at Ragnar Ache in the second division game at Fortuna Düsseldorf (3:4) did not lodge a protest with the German Football Association. However, the club announced that it would “continue to be in intensive contact with Fortuna Düsseldorf and the responsible security authorities to identify the perpetrators”.
“Such behavior cannot be tolerated”
The Palatinate team continued: “Regardless of the sporting outcome of the game, the FCK deeply condemns the throwing of bottles. This represents a dangerous, physically damaging act and the perpetrator consciously accepted that his actions would harm the player or other people who were in the interior area at the time the bottle was thrown. Such behavior cannot be tolerated, also because it harms not only the people affected, but above all the clubs and football in general.”
FCK boss Hengen: “We are shocked”
“Football lives from its fans and emotions – we in Kaiserslautern in particular know what we are talking about. Throwing an object at a player whose injury is consciously accepted has nothing to do with these emotions anymore. We are still always shocked by such behavior that has no place in Düsseldorf, the Betze or any other stadium in the world. That’s why we will investigate this decisively and hope that the individual perpetrator will be identified and held accountable for his actions.” , explained FCK managing director Thomas Hengen.
Ache was hit in the head by a bottle in the 32nd minute of the game, as television pictures also showed. Referee Benjamin Brand allowed play to continue after the incident.
