Germany's FC St. Pauli Get Stadium Ban

The German Football Association (DFB) has decided that FC St. Pauli will have to play their Round 31 Bundesliga home game against SV Werder Bremen on April 23 behind closed doors. The DFB took the decision following the abandonment of St. Pauli’s match against FC Schalke 04 last Friday after one of the assistant referees was hit by a full plastic beer cup.

FC St. Pauli: To Play Without Spectators

The reason behind the decision is that the Hamburg based club had failed to protect match officials at their own home ground, the Millerntor Stadium. The beer cup was the climax of numerous objects which where being thrown onto the pitch over the duration of the match.

The match was abandoned by referee Deniz Aytekin in the 87th minute after his assistant Thorsten Schiffner was struck by the plastic cup at the back of the neck, Schiffner went down but thereafter came back on his feet again to report to Aytekin what had happened.

At the time of the incidence St. Pauli were trailing Schalke 0-2 and were down to nine men which had infuriated local St. Pauli fans; but such an incidence is simply unacceptable at a football ground and has deeply embarrassed St. Pauli officials and players.

The DFB disciplinary committee earlier in the week had ruled that the 2-0 result in favour of Schalke 04 would stand.