SC Magdeburg beat HSG Wetzlar 38-30 in the German Handball Bundesliga, but the game was overshadowed by an advertising banner on the court floor that nearly caused a serious injury.
SC Magdeburg, the reigning German champions and winners of the 2023 EHF Champions League under long-serving coach Bennet Wiegert, have been the dominant force in German handball in recent seasons. HSG Wetzlar, based in the Hesse town of Wetzlar, sit at the other end of the table and are fighting to stay in the top flight.
In the 40th minute, with Magdeburg leading 27-20, Wetzlar's Paul Kompenhans lost his footing on a banner stuck to the floor and nearly flew uncontrolled into Magdeburg's Magnus Saugstrup. The banners kept causing a slipping hazard on the court until referees ordered a cleanup crew onto the floor ten minutes later, pulling the advertising for the players' safety.
The intervention no longer changed the outcome. Magdeburg went on to win comfortably, 38-30. Afterwards, though, Wiegert was furious when he reviewed the near-collision. He said that if Kompenhans had slid into Saugstrup's knee, it would have been a huge catastrophe, a huge disaster, and that he could only apologise for it. He added that it was about the players' health and that something like that should not happen in professional sport.
Wetzlar, for their part, had nothing further to add when asked about the incident afterwards.
Magdeburg searches for a cause
Magdeburg was still trying on Monday to establish what had caused the "banner fouls," with club sources saying it remained unclear whether the floor surface, the cleaning product used on it, or some other factor was responsible.
Clubs increasingly stick sponsor banners directly onto the court floor to keep them visible for television cameras, and advertising surfaces have caused slips, and in some cases injuries, at other Bundesliga arenas as well as at the Men's Handball European Championship in Denmark. Possible fixes being discussed include placing banners in less busy but still visible parts of the court, which would reduce their value to advertisers, or switching to an LED or glass floor that could carry digital advertising instead.
Patrick Luig, the German handball federation's national coach for science and education, told the broadcaster RND in January that there was urgent need for action and that the current situation could not continue. He said he did not want to see players such as Simon Pytlick fail to get back up after this kind of fall.
Gummersbach up next
The floor was not to blame for Wetzlar's heavy defeat, and Kompenhans did not point to it either when speaking to the broadcaster Dyn afterwards. He said the team's defence was the bigger problem, adding that Wetzlar failed to build its defensive chains in the first half and may have been nervous in front of the huge atmosphere at Magdeburg's arena.
Kompenhans scored five goals himself, converting 85 percent of his shots, and his finishing helped Wetzlar at least win the second half of the match.
In the Bundesliga table, Wetzlar sit second from bottom with one win from seven games, and another relegation battle looks likely for the Hessian club. Kompenhans said defiantly that the team was not giving up, pointing out that Wetzlar had brought in seven new signings this season and that integrating them would take time.
Wetzlar next host VfL Gummersbach on Sunday at 16:30, hopefully on a floor with better grip than the one in Magdeburg.
