In the Bundesliga match between Stuttgart and HSV, a player celebrated like in the game Fortnite and promptly got into trouble for it. An opponent found this way of celebrating to be grossly unsportsmanlike.
Recently, we have reported more frequently that professional players are copying the celebration gestures from Fortnite and suddenly performing moves that seem strange to outsiders after scoring in a professional match.
Fortnite is currently incredibly popular – even among professional athletes. But apparently, not everyone has noticed.
Ginczek scores the 1:1, celebrates like in Fortnite, gets in trouble
When Stuttgart player Daniel Ginczek scored the equalizer at 1:1 against HSV shortly before halftime, he celebrated his goal in Fortnite style: He stretched out his arms, bent slightly at the knees, and spun around his own axis while flapping his arms. After the celebration, Ginczek hit the corner flag.
Then, opponent Gideon Jung stormed towards him and confronted him angrily. It was obvious to everyone that Jung had a problem with how Ginczek celebrated his goal.
Why? As Gideon Jung explained to Sky after the match, Ginczek’s way of celebrating mocked HSV and player Nicolai Müller. Jung couldn’t accept that.
On the first matchday, Nicolai Müller had torn his cruciate ligament while celebrating by the corner flag and had not played since. Jung thought Ginczek’s Fortnite celebration was intended to mock this incident and was unsportsmanlike towards HSV.
However, Ginczek wanted nothing to do with it. He said: “I am shocked that he accuses me of that. It had nothing to do with Nicolai Müller.” If the celebration had come across that way, he would be sorry.
According to Ginczek, the celebration was inspired by Fortnite. He had promised the guys in his WhatsApp group: When he scores, he will celebrate like this.
HSV player celebrates at 1:0 too – no one notices
Ginczek’s celebration was not even the only Fortnite celebration in this match. The scorer for HSV’s 1:0, Lewis Holtby, also celebrated in Fortnite style. However, Holtby apparently did not get in trouble for it. He celebrated with the protection of his teammates.
Perhaps the situation on the table plays a role here. VfB Stuttgart is currently in 8th place, while HSV is at the bottom of the Bundesliga.
More on the topic:
German professional footballers celebrate in Fortnite style – Sportschau wonders
