1. FC Union Berlin after the game was canceled: Hundreds of fans traveled to Munich for free – great frustration

There shouldn’t even be 72 hours between 1. FC Union Berlin’s Champions League encounter with Sporting Braga (1:1) and the Bundesliga game at FC Bayern. Not only did the team not even fly back to the capital, but they also traveled directly from Portugal to southern Germany and trained on Grünwalder Straße on the grounds of TSV 1860 Munich on Friday. Many Köpenick supporters also took time off on Thursday and Friday and were out and about in the Bavarian capital early.

On Saturday, a little less than six hours before the game, there was great disillusionment. The encounter between the record champions and the Iron Men, who were in acute danger of relegation, was canceled and postponed to a date that has not yet been announced. In addition to the fans who were already in Munich, many also sat on Deutsche Bahn trains and got off in Erfurt or Nuremberg in order to quickly make their way home.

However, because the airport in Munich was completely closed and nothing worked at the main train station for hours, hundreds of Berliners were stuck in the south. Some were able to at least organize carpooling at short notice, others have to stay another night and hope to return on Sunday without an accident.

Of course, the majority of people on social networks understood the officials’ decision; the health risk was too great for everyone involved, but logically there was also great frustration among many people who had traveled for free. “I made a special trip to Munich, what now?” wrote one fan on I don’t even want to know how many people are already out and about. Pretty bitter.”

The club’s media department, however, took the short-term cancellation of the game with humor. On X, those responsible recreated a virtual game with photos of the professionals in the snow.

The team traveled back to Berlin by bus on Saturday. There is no training on Monday before preparation for the upcoming home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) begins on Tuesday. However, it could be that this plan will also be thwarted in the short term. If the encounter at FC Bayern is to be rescheduled this year, the only time left is December 5th or 6th.

The following week both teams will play in the Champions League (Union against Real Madrid, Bayern against Manchester United), and a week later there will be an English week in the Bundesliga. Then the winter break begins. It is already clear that some fans will not be able to make the trip to Munich again, at least due to time constraints.