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Germany defeats Austria 30:27

Despite an early lead by the German team, Austria fought back to create a thrilling and exciting final, that wasn't decided until a last minute touchdown.

Published: 7 June 2014 21:48 CEST
Germany defeats Austria 30:27
Photo: APA/HANS PUNZ

In a game characterized by some great plays and a few (for the Austrian fans) questionable decisions by the British referee, Germany has retained the European championship in gridiron football in Vienna's Ernst Happel stadium on a warm Saturday evening.

Although the stadium was nowhere near its full capacity of 50,000 seats, enough places were filled – estimated at 27,000 by APA – to demonstrate a healthy interest in the sport in Austria.

The final touchdown occurred as a result of a penalty play close to Austria's goal line.  The pass to the receiver flew cleanly over the outstretched hands of the Austrian defenders, to the German player who made it unopposed into the Austrian touchdown zone.

Reaction from Austrian fans on Twitter was somewhat mixed, with one called Luke Skywalker saying "Great. The refs decided the game.  Yeah, supergreat."

Another comment came from Alexander Pöllmann, saying "Boooooooo! WTF is wrong with these EFAF referees? Let's show them 'Unsportsmanlike Conduct'… Team Austria is supposed to be Champion!"

On a more positive note, Martin Pircher said "Our TeamAustria can be extremely proud of themselves.  They're number 2 in Europe.. Super game!"

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CLIMATE CRISIS

Austria ‘likely to be ice-free within 45 years’

Austria is set to become largely "ice-free" within 45 years, the country's Alpine Club warned Friday, as two of its glaciers last year melted by more than 100 metres.

Published: 6 April 2024 12:17 CEST
Austria 'likely to be ice-free within 45 years'

Amid growing concerns over the effects of extreme warming on glaciers around the world, the latest report by the Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) showed that rapid glacial retreat over the past seven years had accelerated.

The study found that 93 Austrian glaciers observed by the organisation retreated by 23.9 metres (78.4 feet) on average last year, marking the third-biggest glacier melt since measurements began in 1891.

Two of the glaciers showed especially drastic declines, with the Pasterze shrinking by 203.5 metres and the Rettenbachferner by 127 metres.

The 2023 readings came after the worst year on record for glacier melt in Austria, with glaciers shrinking by 28.7 metres (94.2 feet) on average in 2022.

Faced with extreme warming in the Alps, glacial ice in Austria could largely disappear within 45 years, the Alpine Club warned, adding that restrictive climate protection measures were introduced too late.

“In 40 to 45 years, all of Austria will be pretty much ice-free,” Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, head of the Alpine Club’s glacier measurement service, told reporters on Friday.

The OeAV urged increased protection of glaciers as part of overall efforts to sustain biodiversity, noting that expansions of ski resorts had put Alpine regions “under constant pressure”.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), major glaciers worldwide suffered the largest loss of ice since records began in 1950, “driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe”.

In Switzerland, where the WMO is based, Alpine glaciers have lost 10 percent of their volume in the past two years alone.

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