Football Bundesliga
Twelve minutes of silence in the stadium: fan protests continue
Fan protests against possible new security measures will also take place this weekend – this time there will be silence in the stadium.
Matchday 13 of the 2nd Bundesliga started with fan protests. At Hertha BSC’s matches against Eintracht Braunschweig and VfL Bochum’s against Dynamo Dresden, supporters displayed critical banners. Additionally, Ultra and many other fans were silent for the first twelve minutes of the match. “Is this supposed to be the future of football?” can be read on the banners at the Olympic Stadium and the Ruhr Stadium accompanying the silence.
The action is planned to continue this weekend. This was intended as a protest against security measures planned by politicians at German stadiums. At the same time, supporters called on clubs to “maintain this plan with all available resources and options,” as stated in a joint statement from fans in Germany.
The DFL is against collective official action in the Bundesliga
The topic of stadium security will be discussed from 3 to 5 December at the autumn meeting of the Conference of Interior Ministers in Bremen. Among other things, personalized tickets for football matches and tightening stadium ban guidelines are being discussed.
Organized fans in Germany reject this. Under the motto “Football is safe! No more populism – yes, fan culture!” Massive fan demonstrations took place in Leipzig last weekend.
The German Football League has once again made its position clear in its statement before the Bundesliga weekend. “Collective official measures, such as those called for by domestic politics, are neither effective in improving stadium security nor can they be communicated to the millions of football fans who will be impacted by these measures,” he said.
1. FC Köln supports fan protests in principle
And further: “This expressly means measures such as the reduction or removal of ticket quotas for away fans or the obligation to carry out related personalization and identification upon entry.” The DFL referred to the positions represented by managing director Marc Lenz and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf at a special meeting of the Commission on Fans and Fan Culture.
1. FC Cologne, whose fans wanted to take part in a boycott of their home match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening, showed understanding for the protest. “The fans’ minute of silence was painful for us, but understandable. A vibrant fan culture is an irreplaceable part of our identity and the joy of life that characterizes FC and all of German football,” said the board and management.
At the same time, the Bundesliga newcomer stressed that stadium security is very important and visiting stadiums is statistically safe. Collective punishment is rejected. Instead, the focus is on dialogue – with politicians, but also with other clubs.
DPA
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