This morning over liquid endives, I was chatting with an FC Köln fan who wanted to talk to me about Hull City, FC Köln, and Manchester City. If you’re wondering what the Venn diagram is leading to here, it is, of course, Crime & Punishment.
I am at the Franz Kremer Stadion, Cologne, today, home both to FC Köln II and also to my second-favourite German Football Vegan Bratwurst* (so far).
This game against VfB Hilden is a mid-lower-table clash in the Regionalliga West (Tier IV) , but has attracted a good crowd thanks, presumably, to the international break. Absolutely brilliant game, though, as it turned out, and the eff-zeh fans were outstanding.
Goals, flares, drums & sausages. Everything the body needs.
Today’s football news is full of Manchester City, said club having been found guilty on 114 out of 115 charges of financial misconduct (a ratio which the British press keep referring to as ‘a majority of the charges’, which while technically correct**, feels misleading). This has sparked a series of speculative comparisons, notably with the fate of recent offenders Nottingham Forest & Everton in the Premier League.
Notts Forest & Everton were both charged by the Premier League, not by UEFA, as they weren’t qualified for UEFA competitions at the time. The same will apply to Man City, as they have already been sanctioned by UEFA (and had the sanction reversed on appeal). Hull City were charged by the EFL, as they were playing in the Championship at the time.
Another body capable of meting out football sanctions is, of course, FIFA – which is exactly what happened to FC Köln in 2022.
FC Köln were punished over the signing of the Slovenian player Jaka Čuber Potočnik for the Köln U19 team, with the accusation that he had been effectively ‘tapped up’. He only played once for FC Köln (ie the first team) and that wasn’t until 2024, though he did (eventually) play 35 times for the second team, who I am watching today.
After an unsuccessful appeal to the CAS, FC Köln were hit with a 2-window transfer ban for the 2023-24 season, which, almost unarguably, contributed to their 17th place finish and relegation.
“No point. Old men like me don’t bother with making points. There’s no point.”
*the #1 being found at Tennis Borussia Berlin
**the best kind of correct
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