Yesterday evening, the semi-finals between Real and Atlético Madrid took place, an intense match which ended in 5 – 3 for Real. The contest was lively and full of surprises. Yet the audience’s reactions did not particularly please everyone.
German midfielder Toni Kroos afterwards clarified his disappointment with the fan audience’s attitude towards himself. Additionally, the players attempted to hold a one-minute silence moment for German professional football player and manager Franz Beckenbauer who recently passed away. However, the fans started jeering before the minute was over.
Kroos Humiliated by Audience
Toni Kroos (34), the German midfielder of Real Madrid FC, expressed his feelings about the audience during the football match. After the match, he posted a cynical tweet, saying “That was fun today! Amazing crowd”. The football player felt disrespected after the crowd started booing when it was his time to replace Modric at 66 minutes of playtime.
Unfortunately for the German player, fans tossed increasing negative energy tossed at him. The midfielder received more joint hooting and hissing from the fans every time he touched the ball. The booing then turned into jeering when he eventually slipped while going for a far pass.
The 34-year-old German football player was already quite displeased with the team. Earlier on he expressed his disapproval after the 21-year-old talented Spanish team player Gabri Veiga transitioned from Celta Vigo to Al-Ahli.
The striking midfielder could have chosen to transition to English or Italian top clubs after his amazing presentation of eleven goals in Galicia, yet opted for the Middle East. Kroos criticised the talented young player for going after money instead of after talent and growth-encouraging environments. He claimed football in its simple sense of the professionality of the game, not in terms of money, is growing almost extinct.
One-Minute Silence Moment Ignored
Moreover, the same audience Kroos was disappointed with, also decided to ignore the one-minute silence moment. Later on during the match, players attempted the silence moment out of respect for the former football player and manager Franz Beckenbauer.
The legendary player, also nicknamed “der Kaiser”, passed away only several days ago due to several serious illnesses. His family and acquaintances communicated that he had suffered from a long and intense battle with dementia while also having undergone several serious heart surgeries. Instead of remaining quiet for one minute, the fans started jeering loudly before the brief time had passed.
On social media, other Franz Beckenbauer fans assumed the audience was careless and disrespectful about the passing away of the German footballer. Nevertheless, a local journalist for the Spanish Cadena SER reported that the jeering did not in any way imply a lack of support or any type of disrespect for the football player.
The Saudi Arabian culture is generally not in favour of such traditions and therefore the people did not support it. Audiences in Saudi Arabia have broken the one-minute silence moments during football matches before.
This habit is solely culture-related. Real and Atlético players were playing whilst wearing a black bracelet in honour of “der Kaiser”. The legendary player is genuinely well-respected in Saudi Arabia just as much as in Europe.
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