St. Pauli To Play Next Home Match Behind Closed Doors

Bundesliga side St. Pauli is set to play their next home game without fans as punishment for allowing a linesman to be pelted with objects, including coins, lighters and a full cup of beer, during their side’s game against Schalke 04 on April 1st. The match was called off in the 87th minute after the beer was thrown, and a tribunal eventually awarded Schalke a 2-0 win as well as upholding the two red cards St. Pauli incurred during the match. They also ruled that thanks to the club being unable to control their fans, the home game against Werder Bremen on April 23rd would be held in an empty Millerntor-Stadion, denying St. Pauli 24,487 gate receipts.

The club has been given until the 11th to launch an appeal, but it’s considered to be highly unlikely to succeed. Rightly so, in my opinion - even if the beer didn’t hit the referee someone should get punished for wasting a full cup.