The “disgrace of Gijon” is one of the darkest moments in Germany’s football history: At the 1982 World Cup, Germany and Austria agreed on a non-aggression pact in the last group game with a score of 1-0, because both teams were sure of the knockout stages had.
This story is now repeating itself in the German regional league: on the second to last match day of the fourth division, the draw between FSV Frankfurt and SV Elversberg is 1-1. Elversberg is almost certain to be promoted, Frankfurt, for its part, makes it clear that it will stay in the league.
A football game is then out of the question in the last twelve minutes: the ball is only pushed back and forth in the Elversberg half. Frankfurt stuck to the center line and didn’t make a single ball contact until the final whistle.
«It was enough. Why should we attack?”
The “Bild” writes of a “black day for football” and a “scandal in the promotion game”. The two coaches are not aware of any guilt. “It was clear that if we drew, we were as good as through. That’s legitimate,” says Elversberg’s Horst Steffen to “Bild”. And Frankfurt coach Tim Görner says: “The draw was enough for us. Why should we attack there?”
The victims are the competitors from SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach, who are relegated despite a 3-1 win once morest Ulm. They slip into the thankless role of the Algerians, for whom the 1982 World Cup was over following the “disgrace of Gijon”. (cmu)
