Weidenfeller suspended, fined over comments
By: Steven | August 23rd, 2007
Although he has been cleared of allegations of making racist comments towards Gerald Asamoah, Roman Weidenfeller has still been suspended for three matches and fined 10,000 euros by the DFB for other comments made towards the Schalke midfielder.
“We accepted the punishment because Weidenfeller used words you should not use that way”, BVB Director of Sport Michael Zorc said. “It is important for us that the racist background of the allegation has not been kept up.”
Well, that’s good to know. It’s kind of silly Weidenfeller was suspended and fined if he didn’t make any racist comments, though. If he was talking trash to Asamoah, so what? Trash talking happens all the time, especially when it’s a derby. Whatever. Atleast we didn’t get hit with a points deduction (not that there’s any to take away…) and Weidenfeller didn’t call Asamoah a “black pig”. Good to know.
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I just read that feyenoord is blocking the transfer of Smolarek.. There not satisfied with the agreed transfer fee… curious how that will work out… got it from voetbalzone.nl
Posted from
Netherlands
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They agreed to a discount for the punishment of Weidenfeller because he stated he said “schwule Sau” (gay pig) not “schwarze Sau” (black pig) and they had no further evidence for the latter. Obviously a homophobic curse is cheaper than a racial one. Pathetic.
Posted from
United States -
As I understand it, the reason for the less severe punishment lay in the fact that he apologised twice on the pitch, and that Asamoah crashing into him provoked him. Whether he used a homophobic or a racial slur wouldn’t have mattered. If this gay pig thing is actually what he admitted to in court. He would have received that three match ban even if he admitted to have used a racial slur.
The way the German FA handled and communicated this incident was quite unprofessional though. Just produced all the speculations and rumours we have now.
But all in all, I don’t think Asamoah would have reacted the way he reacted on the pitch after he scored that goal and later on in front of the press, if he had been called a gay pig. Not nice, but it’s common in male trash talking that the other guy is called gay or a girl or whatever. And if Weidenfeller apologised to Asamoah, why didn’t he use the opportunity to say to Asamoah “Sorry mate, you got that wrong, I said gay pig.”?
I think Weidenfeller chose homophobia over racism in court - less stigma and bad pr.
Posted from
Germany -
Nice speculation about what Weidenfeller said, Jan. That’s it: he chose homophobia IN COURT, what he really said, we’ll never know. Asamoah insists, that he has heard the word “black” (can I put a link in here?).
Posted from
United States -
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What Asamoah has heard -
Statement of Andreas Müller, manager of Schalke (in German and with a very long URL):http://www.schalke04.de/643.html?&tx_ttnewsbackPid=1&tx_ttnewstt_news=9395&cHash=5f509a3734
No HTML allowed? It sure would look nicer. Let me see:
Posted from
United States -
I think in one of the post match interviews he referred to a party where he recently met Weidenfeller to underline that he knows him a bit and knows that he is not a bad guy/racist per se and his statements in the article above, which claim that he asked the judges not to punish him or the club are in sync with that. Seems Asamoah had accepted his apologies and that this was a one time “slip of the tongue”.
Why would he act that way, if his intention would have been to stick it to him and falsely accuse him of a racist slur? And again, if he, as Weidenfeller’s claims suggest, misunderstood what was being said, why didn’t Weidenfeller clear that up while apologising to him?
Weidenfeller still has a right to get the benefit of the doubt though.
Posted from
Germany -
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Posted from
United States
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