Borussia Dortmund II officially promoted to the 3. Liga
Borussia Dortmund II, or the U23 squad, confirmed their promotion to the German 3rd tier after the appeals from 2nd place RW Essen and relegated SV Bergisch Gladbach against the side were proven to be unsuccessful.
The team had clinched the title on the pitch on Saturday (05/06/21) with a 2-1 win away at Wuppertaler SV on the final day of the season, however after the runners-up Rot-Weiß Essen and relegated SV Bergisch Gladbach made complaints towards the way that BVB II managed their squad when games were postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the squad.
The claims were that Borussia Dortmund II had more than 16 available players for the squad, so therefore they could have fielded a squad for the 3 games that were postponed. Both sides felt the Black and Yellows had gained an unfair advantage from not playing those games, and suggested that those 3 games should be made null and void.
Borussia Dortmund always maintained that they followed all necessary procedures and the court hearing ruled in favor of Borussia Dortmund. Ruhr Nachrichten reported that the hearing on Wednesday evening lasted almost 3 hours and in the end, RW Essen withdrew their appeal. SV Bergisch Gladbach still have an option to file an appeal, as they have not yet withdrawn their appeal, however, their chances of a successful appeal are highly unlikely.