Hertha Reese sends emotional wake-up call after unpleasant insults
Fabian Reese Complains: Rude Treatment at Energie Cottbus Led to Abusive Fan Insults
Hertha BSC Captain and best player Fabian Reese suffered a bitter setback during the week: In a test match against Energie Cottbus, the 26-year-old was injured by a brutal foul from Filip Kusic and had to be substituted out with a thick sprained ankle already in the 16th minute. Now, Reese is speaking out in social media with an emotional plea after not receiving an apology from Kusic and being insulted by Energie fans on his way off the pitch.
On Instagram, the left winger, who scored 13 goals and set up 17 in the previous season's league matches, posted a heartfelt message in the afternoon. First, Reese declared, "We all love this sport and it's like food and drink to our lives." Football is his elixir, he wrote. Then he turned to the values of the game and the importance of fairness, which he said "plays a central role."
He urged, "It's important that the sport we all love keeps these values and protects them. That includes giving an apology after a foul and moving on from it." It seems that didn't happen in this case. "If that's not the case and neither in the locker room nor through a message does anyone say 'Sorry, it hurts me,' we lose sight of the sportsmanship for our sport in the long run."
"Hate Not as an Outlet in Football"
But Reese wasn't finished with his passionate words. He described the "very distressing feeling" he experienced when he had to be substituted out in pain and was left uncertain about how long he would be out of the game.
"When you then pass by the opposing fans in the locker room and receive dozens of shouts like 'Sissy, Son of a Bitch' and even worse insults in your head," Reese appealed, "let's remove ourselves from this sportsmanship." The Hertha captain demanded that "hate not be used as an outlet in football" and instead "let's celebrate football."
Reese's words serve as a wake-up call for unity and against hate, just a week after the end of the European Championship in Germany, which, besides excellent football, also revealed many hateful moments. The EM was attended by extremists and nationalists from various European countries. In the group stage, deep-seated hatred was evident, such as during the match between Croatia and Albania in Hamburg, where fans of both teams sang: "Kill, kill, kill the Serbs." Or in Gelsenkirchen and Munich, where Serbian banners displayed a map of Serbia with Kosovo as part of it, accompanied by the slogan: "No Surrender."
During the Austrian fan block in the match against Poland in Berlin, a "Defend Europe" slogan from new-right movements, such as the far-right Identitarian Movement (IB), was read on a poster. Turkish fan Merih Demiral showed Turkish fans the "Wolf Salute," a symbol of far-right groups like the Grey Wolves. Hungarian fans sang the banned Gigi-D'Agostino song "L'amour toujours" with its racist lyrics during the fan march before the game against the German team and held banners with the inscription "Free Gigi" in the stadium.
Values of Sports
German fans sang the racist version of the Gigi-D'Agostino song repeatedly around the EM, and in a representative survey by Infratest dimap, 21% of respondents stated that they would prefer more white players in the German national team. Supporters of the German team booed Spanish player Marc Cucurella vehemently in the semifinal and final after his unintentional handball in the Viertelfinal elimination of the German team went unpenalized. Over 1,000 hate comments were reported against the German team during the EM in Germany.
When Reese, who was limping off the field with an injury in the LEAG Energie-Stadion in Cottbus, which is still officially called the Stadium of Friendship until 2023, is badly insulted, the new season is already taking on unpleasant forms. Hertha and Cottbus have a neighborly rivalry that, in this case, seems to have turned sour again.
Fabian Reese himself must undergo treatment for a damaged syndesmosis band and meniscus in his right knee and pause for six to eight weeks after the foul. Perhaps he will come up with more fitting words during this time that can restore the values of sports a little.
After the disturbing incident at Energie Cottbus, Fabian Reese has expressed his concern about the increasing occurrence of discrimination and racism in Football-Bundesliga and European Football Championship 2024. Despite being injured in a brutal foul, he was subjected to abusive fan insults, including racial slurs, which he believes undermines the sportsmanship and values of the game. Reese urges for a change in the culture of Football-Bundesliga, where hate shouldn't be tolerated as an outlet and players should be treated with respect, even in competitive situations.
