The Felix W. case: Bayreuth suspended defense chief Felix Weber – Sport

Felix W. is an ice hockey fan and works in a medium-sized company in the broadest sense. He had Sunday and Monday off and attended the important Bayreuth Tigers game against Crimmitschau on Sunday evening. The game was lost, the Tigers can still be relegated from the second division. The police report now speaks of a 28-year-old who was stopped with three per thousand because he allegedly wanted to attack the guest fans. Hampered by the riot police, the 28-year-old “strongly resisted,” according to the police report.

Normally one would not write out the surname until a final judgment has been made. The problem is that in a city the size of Bayreuth, a lot of people know Felix W., and so the next day Felix W. became Felix Weber, who played for the third division club SpVgg Bayreuth football plays and is one of the promotion heroes of the 2017/2018 season at TSV 1860 Munich. People around him raise the question: As a third-division soccer player in a medium-sized city, are you automatically a person of public interest? And if so, why? Just because he’s a footballer? Or because it matters more when an athlete may misbehave at a sporting event than when a, well, ordinary fan does?

Apart from the fact that the incident still has to be worked out in detail: It is certain that not only the Tigers, but also the footballers of SpVgg Bayreuth are a little bit more at risk of relegation than before. Because the incident causes unrest in the club, and this has decided to suspend Weber once. “We sought a short-term conversation with Felix to hear his point of view,” Managing Director Michael Born is quoted as saying in a statement. “We want to get a comprehensive picture of what happened in the coming days and will then discuss how to proceed.” One regrets that the SpVgg “is connected to such an incident at our sporting neighbors. I would like to apologize to the Bayreuth Tigers and the Ice Pirates from Crimmitschau on behalf of the entire club,” said Born. The decision to exclude Weber “from training and game operations until further notice” was made in a joint discussion between Weber, Born and coach Thomas Kleine. There are no further explanations from those responsible even on request.

Weber is considered an important, experienced defense chief. Until last week he was suspended for two games, both of which were lost. He returned to the squad on Saturday and helped Bayreuth surprisingly win 2-1 at promotion candidate Dynamo Dresden. On Friday, Upper Franconia, currently 17th in the table, will receive bottom SV Meppen – another important game for staying in the league. Weber’s absence is seen as a huge disadvantage by many fans.

Would Weber have to be released from work if he were a baker or a car mechanic?

It can be heard from Weber’s environment that he may have made a big mistake. It is possible that not only the incident itself, but also the reporting with his full name led to the football club being forced to temporarily remove Weber from the squad. Weber, at least acquaintances think, only went to the ice hockey game as a private person, and he isn’t a Bayern player either – would he have to be released from work if he were a baker or a car mechanic? According to reports, the police reported the incident with the rampaging fan to the SpVgg, i.e. to the employer.

On Monday, the radio station Mainwelle reported with real names. He relies on eyewitnesses who described the incident in detail. According to a written report on the website, Weber didn’t give up and was ultimately “knocked out” by a police officer. “In the end, it was only by joining forces that we managed to tame the man,” says the police report. Ultimately, the “aggressor” was “accused of bodily harm and of assaulting law enforcement officers in the room”.

By the way, almost a year ago, three SpVgg Bayreuth players were beaten up by away fans of FC Bayern Munich, and the pending proceedings will soon be pending. And even if the case also attracted public interest at the time; and even if many in the city know who it was, the names have still not been written to this day.