After the 2-3 home defeat against VfB Stuttgart, goalkeeper Manuel Riemann from VfL Bochum clashed with fans.
The keeper allowed himself to be provoked by a spectator on his way into the dressing room and stormed into the stands. There he fought a fierce battle of words with the trailer, forehead to forehead. Bochum players and officials tried to slow him down.
Striker Philipp Hofmann reported insults and tried to mediate according to his own statements. “It’s no use getting abusive and insulting yourself,” said the attacker.
Coach Thomas Letsch, who was not aware of the incident himself, defended his keeper: “We don’t have to be personally insulted. We don’t need violence, not even verbal violence. That has no place here.” After the defeat, VfL is back in the middle of a relegation battle. The lead over VfB shrank to three points.
Late in the evening, VfL published a message under the heading: “It only works together!” In it, the club reported that Riemann had been “massively and intolerably insulted” by some spectators during the game and especially after the final whistle, which is why there was “a confrontation”. It went on to say: “The provocateurs were isolated and identified.”
After the defeat, VfL is back in the middle of a relegation battle. The lead over VfB shrank to three points.