Essen concerned about injury risk following firework detonation near goalkeeper Wienand
ESSEN, Germany — A goalkeeper was transported to the hospital and a German soccer match was halted for approximately 40 minutes following the explosion of a firecracker thrown from the stands near him, as reported by his team on Wednesday.
Felix Wienand was competing for Rot-Weiss Essen against Waldhof Mannheim in the German third division when the firecracker detonated “in his immediate vicinity” after being launched from a section of the stands occupied by Mannheim supporters, according to Essen.
The club noted that Wienand was taken to the hospital with a suspected acoustic injury and acute stress response, and coach Uwe Koschinat voiced concerns regarding the possibility of long-term effects for Wienand.
The match ultimately resumed after an extended interruption, and the 23-year-old goalkeeper’s team secured a 1-0 victory.
This incident follows another occurrence from just over a year ago when a goalkeeper was harmed by a lighter thrown from the stands during a top-tier German match. That game concluded in absurd circumstances, with both teams agreeing not to attempt to score after the referee restarted play against the wishes of the injured player’s team.
