After 13 unbeaten second-division matches, SV Darmstadt 98 suffered their first defeat this Friday evening. Three unfortunate minutes just before halftime, during which Patric Pfeiffer was sent off and Vincent Vermeij scored twice, paved the way for Dresden's victory. After the match, the focus was primarily on the differing assessments of two very similar incidents by the refereeing team – incidents which both coaches subsequently evaluated identically.
„I love playing here at this wonderful venue. I have great respect for Dynamo: playing like this in a relegation battle isn’t common, it deserves recognition. Nevertheless, we put in a good away performance. We knew Dynamo would come out with a lot of energy. Despite that, we managed to gain control and had two great chances through Schmidt and Akiyama. Great respect also goes to my team for how we played as if it were a draw, even at 3-0 down. That shows the mentality of my team. I’m also happy for Furu that he scored his first goal. To address the elephant in the room: I never said anything to the referee during my time at Darmstadt, but this time I have to say it objectively: the referee decided the game today because he fundamentally misjudged two situations. In the first situation with Isac, which was a deliberate hold, no Dynamo player could intervene. With Paddy’s foul, two players were in close proximity. It is an absolute outrage that a red card is awarded in this situation.“
„A compliment to my team for the way we won the game. Even in the second half, when you can easily collapse after your own red card, we didn’t fall apart. We had a very good spell in terms of possession. Then we made it 3-0. We’re happy to take the three points. I assess both situations the same way as Flo and understand the frustration 100 percent. We often lack consistency, and that was the case again today.“
„We took the task very well until the sending-off. Keller’s action, where he pulled Isac, warrants a red card. Since the supposed red card against Paddy (Pfeiffer) wasn’t right in my opinion, it was a double wrong decision. Unfortunately, that decided the game. It’s a shame because Dresden plays incredible football; it’s so much fun to play here with this atmosphere. It’s bitter that the game is then influenced by such a decision.
We tried everything, but there are these games where you feel like nothing’s going right. Even with the third goal, when I made the save in a one-on-one and the ball then fell right to the Dresden player’s feet. Nevertheless, after it was 3-1, suddenly 30,000 people thought we could still turn the game around. We get to play eleven against eleven again next week, and then we’ll try everything again.“
„Losing never feels good. In the first half, we were the better team until the sending-off. We created three or four good chances in the first 40 minutes. Then the referee gave us a red card. I don’t think it was a red card, but I haven’t seen it on video yet. In the remaining five minutes before halftime, there was a lot of disarray, and that’s how we conceded two goals. Then it was difficult in the second half. But we’re a solid team and have a good mindset. We lost today, but it won’t knock us down. We’ll learn from it and shake it off.“
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
