Kahn over Drewes after throwing a lighter
“Better if the goalkeeper had tried to keep playing”
Updated 12/16/2024 – 8:56 a.mReading time: 2 min.
On Saturday, the sport between Union and Bochum took a back seat. VfL goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was hit in the head. Oliver Kahn has a polarizing opinion on this.
The throwing of a lighter during the game between Union Berlin and VfL Bochum (1:1) last Saturday sparked a broad discussion. Now the former German national goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has also expressed his view of things – and criticized the Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes. He was hit in the head and the game was stopped for 25 minutes in stoppage time.
Kahn, who was the target of fan attacks several times during his active career (1987 to 2008), explained to “Bild”: “I would have found it better if the goalkeeper had tried to continue playing. And only then could he have been substituted, if it hadn’t worked anymore.”
During Kahn’s time as a goalkeeper, there was a scene that is still well remembered by many football fans in Germany. More precisely, it’s about April 12, 2000, when Oliver Kahn was guarding the FC Bayern box. The German record champions were guests in Freiburg (2:1). In the Dreisamstadion, a Breisgauer Kahn supporter threw a golf ball at the head. This hit the keeper above the left eye. Kahn had blood running down his face, but he was able to finish the game. A 16-year-old student was later identified as the perpetrator. The Freiburgers had to pay a fine of 75,000 marks.
Kahn now remembered the day: “In Freiburg, my body released so much adrenaline that I didn’t feel any pain at first. The hit could have been life-threatening.”
Not everyone agrees with Kahn. Bochum’s managing director Ilja Kaenzig had criticized allegations that were directed against Patrick Drewes. He said on “Bild TV”: “The mood was heated. There were ugly comments not only in the stands, but also in the catacombs, where accusations of acting were made.” Former referee Manuel Gräfe also wrote on Platform He received a lot of criticism for this (read more about the Gräfe statements and the reactions to them here).