Wolfsburg relegated from Bundesliga after playoff defeat in Paderborn

PADERBORN, Germany (AP) — Christian Eriksen and Wolfsburg were relegated from the Bundesliga on Monday after losing at Paderborn 2-1 in the second leg of their end-of-season playoff to determine which plays in Germany’s top division next season.

Laurin Curda scored Paderborn’s promotion-clinching goal in the 10th minute of extra time after Wolfsburg played all but the first 13 minutes with 10 players.

It gave Paderborn, which finished third in the second division, a 2-1 win on aggregate after the teams drew 0-0 in the first leg of their playoff in Wolfsburg on Thursday.

“I could only cry, I couldn't get my emotions under control at all,” Paderborn midfielder Ruben Müller said of the club’s third promotion to the Bundesliga.

“Indescribable, it's unbelievable what's happened here,” said Paderborn goalkeeper Dennis Seimen, who made two late saves to preserve the win.

It’s Wolfsburg’s first relegation since the Volkswagen-backed club was promoted to the Bundesliga in 1997. Wolfsburg won the championship in 2009 but has struggled in recent seasons. It survived playoff deciders against Eintracht Braunschweig in 2017 and Holstein Kiel the following year and was forced into another showdown for survival this season after again finishing third from bottom.

It marks the end of a bitterly disappointing season for Eriksen, the Denmark star who signed a two-year deal when he joined Wolfsburg in September. Eriksen captained the side in Paderborn and received commiserations from opposing players before jubilant home supporters stormed the field to celebrate.

Some Paderborn fans used their plastic beer cups to dig up clumps of grass from the field to take home, while the beer-soaked players danced and sang.

Dženan Pejčinović got Wolfsburg off to a great start in the third minute, but Joakim Mæhle was sent off in the 14th with his second yellow card for a foul on Mattes Hansen, just minutes after he got his first for pushing Filip Bilbija over for flicking the ball away.

“He feels just as bad,” Wolfsburg winger Patrick Wimmer said of Mæhle. “He knows what happened probably shouldn’t have happened. But I don’t think the whole team should be ganging up on Joakim. He’s had a fantastic season since coming back from his shoulder injury and done a great job. He was maybe a bit unlucky today but generally you can see the whole team is lacking in energy.”

The sending off arguably changed the course of the game with only Paderborn pushing forward. Bilbija duly equalized in the 39th with a diving header to Calvin Brackelmann’s header on from a long throw-in.

Sebastian Klaas struck the post around the hour mark and Curda finally made Paderborn’s pressure count when Wolfsburg’s defense left him free at the back post to rifle in substitute Sven Michel’s cross.

Paderborn, a city to the east of Dortmund in the west German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, also earned promotion in 2014 and 2019. Its Bundesliga appearances were brief after finishing last both seasons.

“We were promoted twice before but we haven't stayed up, yet. We have to make sure we make good decisions this summer,” Paderborn coach Ralf Kettemann said.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Paderborn's Laurin Curda celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the soccer relegation match between German second division team SC Paderborn and German first division team VfL Wolfsburg in Paderborn, Germany, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejcinovic celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the soccer relegation match between German second division team SC Paderborn and German first division team VfL Wolfsburg in Paderborn, Germany, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Joakim Maehle, right, and Paderborn's Sebastian Klaas, left, challenge for the ball during the soccer relegation match between German second division team SC Paderborn and German first division team VfL Wolfsburg in Paderborn, Germany, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP)

Wolfsburg's Joakim Maehle leaves the pich after he received a red card during the soccer relegation match between German second division team SC Paderborn and German first division team VfL Wolfsburg in Paderborn, Germany, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Swen Pfoertner/dpa via AP)

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was declared criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, but he will not serve a sentence for it, a Dominican judge ruled Monday.

Judge José Antonio Núñez, in his decision, considered that Franco had been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor's mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.

“It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and at the same time exempt him from punishment. The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one,” explained Núñez.

The judge justified the judicial pardon as a “logical and legal reasoning.”

“Thank God for everything,” Franco expressed as he effusively embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, and other family members who accompanied him in court.

Franco was arrested in January 2024 after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time and transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship.

After the ruling, Franco left the courthouse alongside his lawyer, Teodosio Jáquez, and briefly answered reporters’ questions, saying, “I feel calm,” and asking his fans to “continue supporting me and trusting in me.”

Franco also said he personally had not contacted the Rays but that his lawyers surely had.

“We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,” Major League Baseball said in a statement.

Franco attorney Jáquez said: “We don’t have the physical sentence in our hands, but he was exempted from punishment because the president of the court established that he was also a victim and because he is exempted from punishment through judicial pardon."

The full sentencing will be June 16.

“When we have the full sentence in hand, we will give you more details," Jáquez said. "He was exempted from punishment and we think that’s fine, but we need to have the sentence in hand.

In November 2021, Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays, but his career was upended when authorities in the Dominican Republic announced in August 2023 that they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was 22 at the time.

Six months after his arrest, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, center, leaves court after his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco leaves court after his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco gestures in court at the end of his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco gestures in court during his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)