“Is this supposed to be the future?”BVB and FC Bayern fans led massive protests against politics
After the demonstration with thousands of participants in Leipzig, football fans also expressed their protest to the stadium. They called on sports associations to stand up to the interior minister, who has repeatedly threatened repression around stadiums.
Organized football fans have protested nationwide against tighter security measures at stadiums with boycotts and banners. Fans watched the first twelve minutes of Saturday’s Bundesliga and League 2 games in silence; before kick-off, fans unrolled banners in the corners and called out the club and association.
“Is this supposed to be the future of football? Clubs and associations protect your curves from populists!” read a banner from Borussia Dortmund fans. The south curve in Munich demands: “Clubs and associations: Follow words with action! Defend your fans! Or should that be the future?” The demands in Augsburg, Wolfsburg and Heidenheim are similar. The “fan scene in Germany” calls for protests.
Several thousand people recently gathered in Leipzig under the motto “Football is safe! No more populism – yes, fan culture!” demonstrated against plans by the Interior Ministers’ Conference (IMK), which fans feared, to take tougher measures around stadiums in the future.
Politicians and police have recently frequently criticized inconsistencies in stadium bans. Fans fear ticket personalization, stadium bans due to suspicion, and the introduction of AI-based facial recognition. The federal state interior ministers will meet in Bremen from December 3 to 5.
The German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) assured fans of their support. “Collective official measures, as 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 in a statement on Friday. DFL Managing Director Marc Lenz and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf took part in a special meeting of the Commission on Fans and Fan Culture last week.
