Ahh … the soccer fan.
A third-tier German soccer game was cancelled at halftime Sunday after a reportedly livid fan smacked a referee in the face with a full cup of beer.
Relegation-threatened Zwickau hosted Rot-Weiss Essen, but the game only went for one half before it was canceled due to a fan throwing a cup of beer right in the face of referee Nicolas Winter. The fan was reportedly unhappy with the referee for sending off a player from Zwickau — and also giving a penalty to Essen in the process before halftime.
After Zwickau defender Nils Butzen brought down American forward Isaiah Young, Winter issued Butzen a red card and then gave Essen a hand ball penalty from the free kick.
Simon Engelmann scored a penalty kick for the 1-1 equalizer before the halftime break, which resulted in a very angry stadium with home fans frustrated at the call.
The referees waited before leaving the field, with Magenta Sport TV showing the fan tossing the beer in the referee’s face.
Bloody hell 🤯
Zwickau’s crucial fixture versus Essen has been stopped at half time.
Someone showered the referee in I presume beer and that was that.
What happens now?#3Liga #Zwickau #FSVRWEpic.twitter.com/vcOA9WTGVW
— DDR-Fußball – in English (@Fussball_DDR) April 23, 2023
And this is why I can’t help but love soccer, ladies and gentlemen. These people are absolutely insane.
You don’t see stuff like this in American sports, but with the way Europeans get down (and South Americans at that), when it comes to the sport of soccer, they do stuff like this — and more — on the regular. And this isn’t even the most of it. (RELATED: REPORT: Green Bay Packers And New York Jets Could Reach Aaron Rodgers Deal In The Coming Days)
I mean, after all, this is the same group of fans who throw bombs and grenades at players:
Soccer … gotta love it.