Copa Football Maillot Copa

Few clubs start a season knowing that, no matter what their results are in the coming months, relegation is already a certainty. This was the situation that Arminia Bielefeld faced during the 1971 - 72 season, a consequence of its involvement in the Bundesliga match-fixing scandal in 1971.

By the time the judgment was made, it was too late to change the structure of the divisions. Bielefeld was therefore allowed to finish the following season, but its record was to be annulled at the end of it. With a reduced squad, also missing the suspended Waldemar Slomiany and Jürgen Neumann, Bielefeld would have finished last anyway if the relegation places had been decided solely on results.

The Copa Football Retro Mail Arminia Bielefeld 1971 - 72 recalls one of the most unusual and turbulent seasons in the club's history.