Michael Olise has been impressive at FC Bayern so far. The offensive star doesn’t play in the cup win against 1. FSV Mainz 05 – and still messes with the fans. A provocative gesture occurs. FC Bayern reacts.
Michael Olise cost FC Bayern a lot of money. The German football record champions paid around 53 million euros to Premier League club Crystal Palace for the 22-year-old last summer. Olise has impressed so far in Munich, scoring five goals in the Bundesliga and two goals in the Champions League. Now he is causing a scandal.
The French international was not used in Munich’s 4-0 (4-0) away win in the DFB Cup against 1. FSV Mainz 05 last Wednesday evening; coach Vincent Kompany rested him. Although he wasn’t an active part of the game, Olise took on the Mainz fans.
During the game, Olise warmed up on the sidelines for a possible substitution. As he walked back towards the substitutes’ bench after his warm-up exercises, he apparently clashed with some FSV supporters.
Video footage circulating on social media shows Olise in his training bib walking past the Mainz curve. The spectators insult Olise. Apparently the Frenchman understood some of the words addressed to him very clearly.
He turns briefly in the direction of the curve. And allows himself to be persuaded to make a derogatory gesture. He obviously gives the fans a quick raised finger, possibly the middle finger – at least that’s what it looks like in the footage. The fans react indignantly, shouting “Hey”. The recording then ends. The scene cannot be completely resolved based on the video images. Olise’s hand movement is quick and short and cannot be clearly seen in the videos. In any case, it wasn’t well received by the people of Mainz. They apparently interpreted the gesture as an extended middle finger.
FC Bayern argued on Thursday that it was a mistake. The club emphasized that Olise was showered with beer and insulted by the opposing fans. The player then made a gesture. But this was not offensive.
Olise had already been the enemy of the home fans last weekend during Bayern’s 5-0 win over VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga. After he made it 1-0 with a direct free kick, he stepped in front of the Bochum corner in celebration. He also called for a penalty for his team in another game situation. The VfL fans whistled and booed him at times every time he touched the ball.
Julien Wolff is a football editor. He has been reporting from Munich since 2011 about FC Bayernalso about the Bundesliga and the national team.
