FC Memmingen fights back against Ansbach – exciting final phase!

FC Memmingen fights back against Ansbach – exciting final phase!

In today's regional league home game, FC Memmingen fought for a dramatic draw against SpVgg Ansbach. It ended 2-2 after the hosts had to chase down a 2-0 deficit in the second half. The goals from David Günes (85th) and Jakob Gräser (90th) secured the important point in front of 625 spectators in the stadium after the first half remained goalless and Ansbach dominated the game at the beginning of the second half. With a goal from Niklas Seefried (51st) and a goal from Patrick Kroiß (60th), the guests quickly extended their lead.

FCM coach Matthias Günes praised his team's morale, especially the substitutions that brought a breath of fresh air into the game. Particularly noteworthy was debutant Luan Fusaro, who came into the game in the 81st minute and prepared both equalizers. This shows that the young talents in the club definitely have potential and take advantage of their chances when they get them.

Accusations of racism cast shadows

But the game was not only characterized by sporting achievements. A racist incident caused a stir when Ansbach player Noah Gebre was insulted by a spectator during the game. Neither the referees nor those in charge noticed this, but it is symptomatic of the ongoing problems with discrimination in football. Reem Alabali-Radovan, the then Federal Government Commissioner for Integration, had already pointed out the urgency of taking action against such incidents in sport in the 2023 situation report “Racism in Germany”. According to a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, attitudes in this area remain worrying and incidents like the one in Memmingen are not isolated cases.

In addition, the Swabia South/West Police Headquarters has announced that it will enter into dialogue with the Memmingen-based fan group “Inferno Memmingen”. This move comes after recent incidents involving right-wing expressions and an attack on police officers. Thomas Reichart, the second chairman of FC Memmingen, expressed his irritation at what happened during a regional league derby and made it clear that such incidents, including graffiti on the stadium, would not be tolerated by the club.

A look at the next games

The club management announced that they would impose stadium bans on the people responsible in order to do justice to FC Memmingen's good reputation. Although the club does not have an active fan community, the “Inferno Memmingen” group only had up to 20 members this season and had not previously attracted any negative attention, which makes the developments all the more surprising.

After this emotional game, FC Memmingen is already looking ahead to the next duel on Friday against Wacker Burghausen, which kicks off at 7 p.m. The team is undefeated in its last five home games and hopes to continue this winning streak.