Bremen: Four more Bundesliga teams took a knee before their games, as Werder Bremen inched closer to relegation and Schalke’s winless run became its worst for 27 years.
Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin first kneeled ahead of their game Saturday in an anti-racism gesture following mass protests against police brutality and racism across the United States over the killing of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man, in Minneapolis on May 25. Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen followed their example in Sunday’s opening game. Union Berlin and Schalke whose midfielder Weston McKennie was the first in Germany to protest last week also kneeled ahead of their 1-1 draw Sunday. The referee and his assistants joined in. Wolfsburg beat Werder 1-0 to take a step toward the Europa League while Werder moves closer to relegation from the Bundesliga.
They were heading for a largely uneventful 0-0 draw in torrential rain before the 82nd minute, when Wolfsburg’s substitute winger Felix Klaus curled in a cross from the right and Wout Weghorst met it with a bouncing header into the Werder goal. The result leaves Werder, last a German champion in 2009, in 17th place and facing relegation.
That would mean only its second season outside the top division since the Bundesliga was founded. Werder hasn’t won at home in the league since Sept. 1. It is six points off safety and three off Fortuna Düsseldorf in the relegation playoff spot. Wolfsburg climbed above Hoffenheim into sixth place and a Europa League spot. Union and Schalke kept their unwanted records of not having won since the league restarted amid the coronavirus pandemic. While Union was happy with a point to edge away from the relegation zone, Schalke was again frustrated as its winless run hit 12 games in all competitions, its worst since 1993. (AP)
