BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin is appealing a decision by the German soccer federation’s sports court to award Bochum a 2-0 victory after Bochum's goalkeeper was struck with a firelighter during their Bundesliga match in December.
“It’s bad enough that people repeatedly throw objects onto stages, into indoor areas or onto the pitch at concerts or sporting events. Unfortunately, there’s nothing that any event organizer can do to prevent it,” Union president Dirk Zingler said late Thursday.
Earlier, the sports court had awarded Bochum a victory over Union instead of the 1-1 draw that the teams played out on Dec. 14.
That game was nearly over when Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was struck by the object thrown from the crowd in added time. Referee Martin Petersen suspended the game and led both teams off the field after Drewes sat down and received medical treatment.
Bochum did not want to restart the game, but it resumed nearly half an hour later, with striker Philipp Hofmann replacing Drewes for the remaining three minutes. Both teams agreed not to try and score – which was also an issue for the court.
“Such agreements contradict the basic principles of sporting competition,” court chairman Stephan Oberholz said.
Oberholz said Union was responsible for “a weakening of the Bochum team” as the item had been thrown by a Union supporter.
Zingler feels otherwise.
“The actual unsportsmanlike scandal took place on the pitch and in court today,” Zingler said, suggesting Bochum had made more of the incident than warranted.
“Whether there is an impairment or weakening for one side, whether the game is abandoned or continued, must always be the sole decision of the referee,” Zingler said. “If the beneficiary party can declare themselves as weakened, we no longer need impartial referees and the door is open to fraud or even dirty tricks. The disadvantaged parties will never be able to prove the opposite.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes shows an object with which he was hit on the head during a Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Berlin. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, File)
FILE - Bochum goalkeeper Patrick Drewes kneels on the ground after being hit on the head with an object during a Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfL Bochum, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Berlin. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, File)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman who at age 12 stabbed her sixth grade classmate nearly to death to please online horror character Slender Man will be released from a psychiatric hospital, a judge ordered Thursday after a trio of experts testified that she has made considerable progress battling mental illness.
Morgan Geyser has spent nearly seven years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She has petitioned Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren, who committed her, for release four times since June 2022. She withdrew her first two petitions. Bohren denied her third request this past April, finding she still presented a threat to the public.
Geyser, now 22 years old, filed her latest petition in October. Bohren decided to grant her release after a day-long hearing Thursday, finding that she had maximized her treatment options at the facility and is no longer a safety risk. He ordered the state Department of Health Services to set up a plan to house her in a group home and supervise her for his consideration at a hearing within 60 days.
The judge said that her crime was a “brutal, terrible offense” but Geyser has since grown up and to be truly rehabilitated she must exist as part of society.
“She's done what she's supposed to do,” Bohren said. “She appears to have a good attitude.”
Geyser and Anissa Weier were 12 years old in 2014 when they lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park after a sleepover. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. Leutner barely survived.
The girls later told investigators that they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be Slender Man's servants and they feared he would harm their families if they didn't follow through.
Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was sent to the psychiatric institute due to mental illness in 2018.
Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide. She was also sent to the psychiatric center but was granted release in 2021 to live with her father and was ordered to wear a GPS monitor.
Three psychologists who have been working with Geyser since she was committed to the institute testified at Thursday's hearing that she's made impressive progress in just the last six months and should be released.
Dr. Brooke Lundbohm testified that Winnebago staff weaned Geyser off her anti-psychotic medications by early 2023 and she's suffered no symptoms since then.
Dr. Deborah Collins said Geyser is always at risk of reoffending simply because she almost killed someone but she has worked on her coping skills, improved her emotional control and retreats into fantasy less frequently. Collins added that Geyser told her that she hates what she did to Leutner and can't forgive herself.
Dr. Ken Robbins told the judge that she could become dangerous if she remained confined at Winnebago and lost hope.
“The longer she's there, at this point, the harder it's going to be to re-integrate,” Robbins said.
Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Ted Szczupakiewicz argued that Geyser couldn’t be trusted, noting that she claimed during evaluations last year that she faked her delusions about Slender Man and actually attacked Leutner as a way of escaping her abusive father. He hinted that was a ploy to make the release more likely.
The judge shrugged that off, saying it's not unusual for mental illness diagnoses to evolve.
This story has been updated to correct that the judge denied Geyser's third petition in April.
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
