German soccer club punished for walking off field after alleged racist slur

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — A lower-level German soccer team called its punishment for stopping a game in protest after racist abuse was apparently directed at team captain Marcus Coffie “a slap in the face.” Hamburg-based Teutonia Ottensen was leading 2-1 at Bremer SV in the fourth-division game on Saturday when Coffie said he was racially abused by an opposing player. Coffie is Black. Coffie’s teammates reacted by walking off the field and the game was abandoned before halftime. The federation has said it has no evidence that Coffie had been racially abused. It awarded Bremer SV a 5-0 victory and questioned “whether when such an accusation justifies calling off a game or not continuing it.”