Riots in Paderborn, imitation coins in Mönchengladbach, banners on Schalke: Friday evening saw the first of the announced fan protests against the German Football League.
With shouts of “Shit DFL” and throwing counterfeit money onto the field, the supporters ended their demonstrative silence after twelve minutes at the Bundesliga game between Borussia Mönchengladbach. The game was stopped for a few minutes to clear the lawn of coins. Fans from both camps also expressed their displeasure in the 3-0 (1-0) in the second division game between SC Paderborn and Hansa Rostock. From the 13th minute onwards, the Rostock supporters set off pyrotechnics – the encounter was interrupted twice. There were also momentous fan riots. There are said to have been an unprecedented number of injured Hansa supporters and police officers. SC managing director Martin Hornberger estimated the damage caused a few hours after the game at around 100,000 euros.
Hansa distances herself
“We completely distance ourselves from the way the protest was brought onto the field,” commented Hansa sports director Kristian Walter on Sky after the game. The Rostock goalkeeper and captain Markus Kolke, who was sent off with a red card after 63 minutes, found similarly critical words: “There really isn’t any need for rocket fire, so much can happen. I’m happy that nobody was hit by it.”
At the FC Schalke game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, the visiting supporters took part in the boycott – they showed posters with the inscription “No to investors in the DFL!”.
Many football fans want to express their dissatisfaction with the DFL decision with a boycott this weekend. “We are not prepared to stand idly by and watch the sell-out of German football. In order to make it clear that the much-hyped 12th man nationwide is not prepared to be used as part of the bargaining chips for the DFL deal with dubious investors, we will remain silent for twelve minutes,” he said it in a statement from Germany’s fan scenes published by several fan groups on Friday.
At the general meeting at the beginning of the week, the German Football League received a mandate from the professional clubs to begin concrete negotiations with a strategic marketing partner. A financial investor should pay up to one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The contract should have a maximum term of 20 years.
Twelve minutes of silence
If it stays quiet in the stadium for twelve minutes, “it will quickly become noticeable and audible for us,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß, who will be competing against FC Bayern with VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. “Both have their place. The art lies in bringing both together,” he said. On the one hand, it’s about not losing touch with international football, but also “definitely not losing contact” with the fans, who are “everything crucial.” “It’s a fine line.” You have to listen very carefully to what the fans’ concerns are.
“We respect the tradition historically, but we want to develop German football,” emphasized colleague Xabi Alonso from league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen. “We have fans in Leverkusen, but also in Spain, Argentina and Japan. We have to have a perspective to keep the tradition, but also to develop a vision because we are fighting in a football jungle, with La Liga, Premier League , League A and Serie A.” The Werkself welcome Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
The lively fan culture in Germany is a unique selling point, the fans write. “But that is precisely why our participation in the Bundesliga product is also our greatest weapon! We have our share of the value of professional football in our own hands,” the statement says. “We see the investor entry as a fundamental attack on the grassroots popular sport of football in this country. The officials may be able to sell off media rights, but we can still influence the shares we contribute to the Bundesliga product ourselves.”
The fan scenes announced: “We will pool our resources collectively in the fight against the DFL’s greed and arbitrariness. The league’s managing directors could still stop the disastrous investment project. We will keep a close eye on this path!”
Statement on the Dortmunder Ultras website
