Leipzig settles for a draw as Hoffenheim wins in weather-delayed Bundesliga games

BERLIN (AP) — Martijn Kaars scored a stoppage-time penalty for St. Pauli to deny Leipzig all three points with a 1-1 draw in their weather-delayed Bundesliga match on Tuesday.

Leipzig defender David Raum slipped at an inopportune time as he missed the ball and took down Kaars to concede the spot kick.

Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi got his fingers to the ball but couldn’t keep Kaars’ well-struck effort out, and the home team celebrated as if it had won.

It was St. Pauli’s second consecutive point after the derby draw against Hamburger SV and it lifted it a point above bottom side Heidenheim with 15 rounds to play.

Leipzig still moved to fourth, the last qualification spot for the lucrative Champions League, ahead of Stuttgart on goal difference.

Yan Diomande scored midway through the second half for the Red Bull-backed club, which failed to qualify for any European competition last season.

Also Tuesday, Hoffenheim consolidated third place with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen despite finishing with 10 men.

Alexander Prass broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike inside the top right corner before the break, and Grischa Prömel made it 2-0 early in the second half just after Hoffenheim had Wouter Burger sent off after a VAR check for a dangerous challenge on Cameron Puertas.

Hoffenheim has a three-point lead over Leipzig.

Both games Tuesday had been called off earlier this month because of heavy snowfall, ice and snowdrifts across northern Germany including Hamburg and Bremen.

Before the matches, all four teams lined up behind banners that said “We Remember” to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, held every year on Jan. 27. It’s the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of the Nazi German death camps.

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Bremen's Senne Lynen celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and TSG Hoffenheim 1899 in Bremen, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Carmen Jaspersen/dpa via AP)

Hoffenheim's Wouter Burger, left, and Bremen's Karim Coulibaly fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and TSG Hoffenheim 1899 in Bremen, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Carmen Jaspersen/dpa via AP)

Leipzig's Yan Diomande, center, battles for the ball with St. Pauli's Eric Smith, right, and Joel Chima Fujita battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and RB Leipzig in Hamburg, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Leipzig's Xaver Schlager, left, and St. Pauli's Karol Mets battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and RB Leipzig in Hamburg, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Martijn Kaars, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and RB Leipzig in Hamburg, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Three government ministers resigned in Greece on Friday amid a European investigation into alleged European Union farm subsidy fraud.

Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras stepped down along with Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Kefalogiannis and Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos. All denied wrongdoing, saying their resignations were intended to facilitate the investigation.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking immunity waivers for 11 lawmakers in a case that has fueled public anger in Greece and raised concerns in the farming sector.

The center-right government quickly reshuffled the Cabinet, appointing former European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas as agriculture minister.

The investigation is led by European chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, who visited Athens for talks with government officials last year.

The alleged fraud centers on a Greek state agency that failed to prevent the misuse of EU funds through false claims for land and livestock.

This is the second wave of resignations linked to the scandal after five senior officials quit last year.

Greece’s farming sector faces mounting strain, with weeks of protests triggered by delayed subsidy payments tied to the investigation. Thousands staged tractor protests in Athens and central Greece earlier this year.

FILE - European chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi checks her notes during a press conference following meetings with Greek officials on various issues, at a custom of Piraeus port, near Athens, Greece, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)