German amateur football team lose by THIRTY-SEVEN GOALS after only fielding seven players and refusing to tackle – because they heard an opponent MIGHT have coronavirus
- An amateur German team were beaten 37-0 after social distancing in a match
- Ripdorf believed opponents Holdenstedt II had contracted coronavirus
- They were unable to postpone the match and were told to play by the authorities
- Ripdorf social distanced instead, allowing their opponents to score 37 goals
If there is one area in life that social distancing is a problem it is in football and that proved to be the case for an amateur German football team last weekend.
Ripdorf, who play in the 11th tier of German football, were thrashed 37-0 after they played whilst social distancing following fears they could contract coronavirus from their opponents.
Ripdorf played SV Holdenstedt II last weekend but the match was thrown into doubt by allegations that a Holdenstedt player had been in contact with someone infected with Covid-19.
An amateur German team were thrashed 37-0 after they played whilst social distancing following fears they could contract coronavirus from their opponents
There was very little resistance from the defence as they kept their distance from the attackers
Holdenstedt’s attackers breezed through on goal and slammed the ball into the back of the net
Ripdorf president Patrik Ristow had made the claim that an opponent could have caught the killer disease during Holdenstedt’s previous game against Eddelstorf.
The Holdenstedt squad later tested negative for coronavirus but Ripdorf were not satisfied with those results because the standard 14 day isolation period had not been completed.
In a bid to get the game called off, Ripdorf pleaded with the local football authorities but their attempts were rejected.
Remarkably, Holdenstedt’s first team were allowed to postpone their clash but the reserves were not given the choice and Ripdorf had to either play or face a €200 (£180) fine.
They chose to play, only naming seven players in their team because other players refused, but ensured they maintained a two metre distance to their opponents throughout the 90 minutes.
That inevitably allowed Holdenstedt to run riot and score 37 unanswered goals.
Top-flight football in Germany returns on Friday night when Bayern Munich host Schalke
‘We are thankful those seven players volunteered, otherwise the club would have faced a €200 fine for abandoning the match,’ Ristow told ESPN.
‘That’s a lot of money for us, especially amid the pandemic.
‘When the game kicked off, one of our players passed the ball to the opponent and our team walked to the sidelines. Holdenstedt scored, but the referee booked our captain for unsportsmanlike conduct.
‘The Holdenstedt players did not understand. But we did not want to risk anything. For the rest of the match, our players returned to the field but they only stood on the pitch.
‘They did not go into direct duels and observed the social distancing rules, keeping two metres between them and Holdenstedt players.’
Germany has so far had more than 250,000 cases of coronavirus and just under 10,000 deaths.
There will be no social distancing needed when the Bundesliga starts again on Friday night with the top-flight’s rigorous testing programme back up and running to ensure the season runs smoothly.