BERLIN (AP) — After being accused of sexism for a social media post, Leipzig defeated Union Berlin 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday and dealt coach Marie-Louise Eta her second defeat in as many games in charge.
Max Finkgräfe, Romulo and Ridle Baku scored for Leipzig to consolidate third place and move closer to Champions League qualification after five straight wins.
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Union Berlin supporters hold up scarves and cheer during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
RB Leipzig's Max Finkgräfe celebrates after scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
RB Leipzig's Romulo celebrates scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Leipzig's Ridle Baku, left, dribbles as Union Berlin's Janik Haberer, center, and Diogo Leite defend during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Union Berlin coach Marie-Louise Eta watches from the sideline during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Eta made her debut as the first female coach in the Bundesliga — or any of the top divisions in Europe’s big five men’s leagues — last weekend in a 2-1 loss at home to relegation-threatened Wolfsburg.
She’s been the subject of a torrent of sexist abuse on social media and Leipzig was accused of joining in on Thursday when it responded to a post on X from Union saying it was a “nice city” with photos of Eta posing with former Leipzig coach Marco Rose and former players Dominik Szoboszlai and Emil Forsberg with the words, “Your head coach didn’t just find the city pretty nice...”
The photos were from Eta’s internship at Leipzig in 2022, and Eta initially posted them herself on Instagram on Jan. 1, 2023.
Eta, who was Union’s men’s under-19s coach, was appointed head coach for the last five games of the season to secure Bundesliga survival. Union, which is six points above the relegation zone before the rest of the 31st round, next faces Cologne, Mainz and Augsburg.
“We knew it would continue to be a tough path ahead, that we couldn’t expect to turn everything around overnight,” Eta said. “So I’m feeling positive for now, because there were things today that were OK, things that were good, and we’ll work on those. Next up is Cologne at home, where we want to get the three points.”
As they always do whenever their team plays in Leipzig against the Red Bull-backed club, Union’s fans refrained from singing and chanting for the first 15 minutes to protest against its existence. They see it as a manufactured endeavor with marketing as its raison d’être after it was formed and bankrolled by the energy drinks giant in 2009.
They watched in silence as Leipzig made an ominous start. The home team should have scored more with Union goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow denying Antonio Nusa and Brazilian forward Romulo, and Andras Schäfer clearing the rebound from the latter off the line.
Finkgräfe opened the scoring in the 22nd minute — when the Union fans were in full voice — by thumping Leopold Querfeld’s attempted headed clearance inside the right post.
Romulo shrugged off Querfeld’s weak challenge to score three minutes later, and Union suffered another blow when Rønnow had to go off injured. The Danish goalkeeper signaled he couldn’t continue after a kickout. Carl Klaus replaced him for his Bundesliga debut at 32 years of age.
“It's special,” said Klaus, who had to react straight away to deflect Christoph Baumgartner’s header against the crossbar, then fished another near-goal off and over the bar.
Oliver Burke should have scored before the break with Union’s only chance of the half when he was through after a defensive mistake, but failed to get past Leipzig ’keeper Maarten Vandevoordt.
Though her team improved after the break, Eta made three changes around the hour mark, only for Yan Diomande to set up Baku for the third.
Danilho Doekhi scored Union’s consolation with a header to a corner in the 77th, and substitute Ilyas Ansah thought he scored another in stoppage time only to have it ruled out for offside.
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Union Berlin supporters hold up scarves and cheer during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
RB Leipzig's Max Finkgräfe celebrates after scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
RB Leipzig's Romulo celebrates scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Leipzig's Ridle Baku, left, dribbles as Union Berlin's Janik Haberer, center, and Diogo Leite defend during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Union Berlin coach Marie-Louise Eta watches from the sideline during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — A volunteer firefighter died battling a wildfire in northern Florida while more than 120 homes have been destroyed in southeast Georgia and thousands more remain threatened by two large blazes, one of which investigators suspect was sparked by a foil balloon touching power lines, officials said Friday.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast, where scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
In northern Florida, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said Friday that volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. Crews was rushed to a hospital where he died Thursday evening, according to a news release posted to social media.
“Kevin was the epitome of courage and dedication,” Hilliard Volunteer Fire Chief Jerry Johnson said in a statement. “His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
After getting a firsthand look at firefighting efforts in southeast Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters that state officials believe 87 homes burned in rural Brantley County this week are the most ever destroyed by a single wildfire in the state's history.
An additional 35 homes have been lost to a larger fire burning in sparsely populated Clinch and Echols counties near the Florida state line, Kemp said. That blaze has burned about 50 square miles (129 square kilometers), an area twice the size of Manhattan.
Kemp said officials suspect the Brantley County was sparked by a foil party balloon that touched live power lines, creating an electrical arc that ignited the ground. He said investigators suspect the larger fire started with a man welding a gate outside.
Spread across more than 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) and still growing, the Brantley County blaze was 15% contained Friday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said. An estimated 4,000 homes in the county were under evacuation orders Friday, said commission spokesperson Seth Hawkins.
“There’s no way to stop this fire,” Kemp said. “They’re having to contain the flanks and the back of it and then, hopefully, we get a change in the weather.”
No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.
Firefighters are battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.
Michael Gibson was at his job Thursday at a chicken feed producer when his fiancee called urging him to come home. By the time he arrived, firefighters were already on the road where Gibson, his fiancee and their four children lived. He said he took his family to safety and tried to return to salvage belongings, but police stopped him.
Gibson said the fire consumed his mobile home and one beside it where his fiancee's brother lived. His family has been staying in a camper on a relative's property.
“We’ve lost everything, but I’m one of the lucky ones.” Gibson said Friday. “We’ve been prepared to leave. And I’m truly blessed to have my family and to have somewhere to sleep. ... A lot of people in my county didn’t make it out with the clothes on their backs.”
Jennifer Murphy said she had little time to react when firefighters knocked at her door in the Brantley County community of Hortense.
She said she barely had a chance to gather her dog, Chip, and a single bag of belongings before firefighters urgently helped her walk down her wheelchair ramp and grab a rolling walker from her van outside.
“It was like, 'Get out now, right now. You’ve got to leave,’” Murphy said Friday at the local church where she had spent the night on a couch.
While crews with bulldozers work to clear fire breaks around the burning areas, firefighters from dozens of local agencies have focused on protecting nearby homes and other structures — clearing away dry brush and using hoses and sprinklers to keep houses and yards wet.
"We’ve definitely had the local fire guys out there literally hosing stuff down,” said Hawkins of the forestry commission.
In Florida, firefighters were battling more than 120 wildfires Friday, mostly in the state’s northern half. Fire crews in Georgia responded to 31 new and relatively small blazes Thursday, the state forestry commission said.
Officials say soaking rain is badly needed to snuff out the large fires, and that possible showers forecast this weekend won't bring enough rainfall. There's also a chance of thunderstorms, raising concerns that lightning could spark more fires.
"It is going to take 8 to 10 inches before we can walk away from these fires,” said Johnny Sabo, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.
He said long-range forecasts predict less than average rainfall until July.
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press journalist Jeff Amy contributed from Atlanta
A firefighting helicopter takes off from the airport working on fires in Southeast Georgia, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Waycross, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Jennifer Murphy and her dog Chip sit inside the Southside Baptist church as she is displanced by the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Annabelle Enke plays as her father Michael Gibson looks on after losing thier home at the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks on the fires in Southeast Georgia, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Waycross, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Michael Gibson and his fiancée Tabitha Enke sit inside their camper after losing their home during the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The burned out remains of the Wedding Chapel at covenant acres is seen near the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A burned vehicle sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A burned trailer sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A firefighter works the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
