On the final matchday of the 1st Kreisklasse Rotenburg (Wümme) South in Lower Saxony, the game was halted early after homophobic insults. According to the paywalled Kreiszeitung Wesermarsch, VfL Sittensen refused on Saturday to continue the match against the league-leading SV Horstedt.
The Opponent Became Even More Aggressive
Although both ninth-tier teams had nothing left to play for in terms of standings, the on-field situation escalated after a goal by Horstedt. When Sittensen captain Thian Evers and a teammate protested an offside decision, Evers says an opposing player directed a verbal outburst at them. “He told us, you’re a couple of queers. I asked what that meant, and he repeated the remark,” Evers explained.
The Sittensen captain then tried to confront the player and set boundaries. Instead of showing any remorse, he was met with another insult that was even more aggressive. Evers recalled: “In the next moment I told him that I don’t tolerate such homophobic remarks, that this has no place here. His response: Get lost, because I’m a fag.”
After the incident was reported to the coaching staff, VfL Sittensen’s players, with the score at 1:3, pulled the plug themselves and left the field as a team. The club leadership of VfL immediately backed the players’ decision not to continue the match. Such behavior has no place on sports fields.
Horstedt: It Wasn’t Us Who Were Homophobic, But You Were Racist
The champions SV Horstedt responded to the stoppage with bewilderment. Club president Bernd Sager explained that the player involved denies making homophobic statements. Instead, SV Horstedt accuses VfL Sittensen of misconduct on their end. “According to him, one of our players was himself racially insulted by a VfL player,” Sager stated.
Furthermore, Horstedt questioned the referee’s role, arguing that the official did not hear the incidents himself. The club said it would pursue legal action if sanctions are imposed by the association.
The case will now head to a sports tribunal. Regardless of the outcome at the table, the incident shows that amateur football teams are no longer willing to accept queer-hostile insults as legitimate “emotional moments.” In recent years, similar queerphobic incidents have repeatedly surfaced in amateur football: last year, for example, a match-day steward with the Baden-Württemberg club Türkspor Neckarsulm barred a opposing fan from bringing a rainbow flag into the stadium (TheColu.mn reported). Earlier, a player from Dülkener FC’s second team in North Rhine-Westphalia had produced T-shirts that provoked opposing teams with homophobic slogans — TSV Boisheim was labeled “TSV Gay Boys-Home” (TheColu.mn reported).
