Bundesliga
When fines worth millions evaporate: Football in the pyro dilemma
Pyrotechnics – a constant topic in German stadiums. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
Every year, football clubs transfer several million euros to the DFB for the misconduct of their fans. That doesn’t act as a deterrent. On the contrary. That’s why consequences are now being demanded.
The successful businessman Martin Kind would have loved to have given up this top spot. His club Hannover 96 led the penalty table in the 2nd Bundesliga last season.
The sports court of the German Football Association sentenced the club to a total of over 630,000 euros for the fans’ misconduct – around three and a half percent of the professional budget.
Lower Saxony is not an isolated case. The clubs had to pay over eight million euros in fines last year. Record. And a new dispensable record is probably already in sight; 1. FC Cologne was only served with a criminal complaint for almost 600,000 euros in mid-December. The Rhinelanders did not accept, the outcome is open.
“The DFB, which issues the penalties, should note that these have had no effect in recent years. I see no point in the penalties,” said the 79-year-old Kind of the German Press Agency. Eintracht Frankfurt’s board member Philipp Reschke warned last season: “These are dimensions that we have to reverse as quickly as possible.” His club had to shell out around 860,000 euros, making it the only one ahead of Hanover.
Fans cheer, DFB counts
Kind suggests that the DFB and the DFL develop a concept for all professional clubs, which the shareholders’ meeting of the 36 Bundesliga clubs should decide on. “Important: All Bundesliga clubs should work according to this concept. All options must be discussed, for example personalized seating instead of standing,” said the entrepreneur. In Hanover they are already working on improved entry controls.
So far the roles have been clearly assigned. The clubs are responsible for ensuring that everything in their stadiums remains pyrotechnic-free. The DFB evaluates video recordings and punishes violations. The legal and procedural code’s sentencing guide lists what costs how much – depending on the league. A pyroflach costs a Bundesliga team 1,000 euros, a third division team has to pay 350 euros. A shot object already costs 3,000 euros in the Bundesliga. Use of laser pointers, banners with unwanted messages (price based on size), intrusion onto the playing field, game interruptions – almost every incident can be found there.
The clubs can use some of the money for their own preventive measures. In addition, the penalties can be passed on to those responsible if they can be identified. The association passes on the impressive sum that ends up in the DFB account to its foundations.
Jena set a precedent
Cologne has announced that it will take action against the level of the criminal complaint. In the ongoing proceedings, a verdict is not expected until January at the earliest. Managing director Christian Keller had described association penalties as “far removed from the reality of German football and fan culture” and the club accused the DFB of “unreflectively assessing the events using partial application of a standardized sentencing guideline,” which he believes to be wrong. The DFB points out that the guidelines were drawn up at the request of the clubs so that penalties were as comparable and transparent as possible.
In 2018, the fourth division club Carl Zeiss Jena had no understanding at all that the clubs were being held accountable for the fans’ misconduct and went all the way to Karlsruhe. However, the Federal Constitutional Court said in 2023 that it would not take action against collective punishment. The Federal Court of Justice had previously dismissed the Thuringians’ lawsuit. Reason: The sanctions are not punishments, but preventive taxes.
Fireworks are not a taboo in the stadium
From a purely legal perspective, the DFB is on the safe side. But something has to change. Since the corona pandemic, the penalties have multiplied. In the 2018/19 season it was around 3.3 million euros. Last season it was around four million euros in the Bundesliga, 3.1 million in the lower house and around one million in the 3rd league. “The relationship has gotten into trouble,” said Reschke from Frankfurt. There has been a “pyrotechnic paradigm shift” since Corona; fireworks in your own stadium are no longer taboo.
A solution? Not in sight. Kind, an opponent of pyrotechnics, is even open to controlled burning. At the moment, however, he doesn’t see a consensus with the fans on this. “The proponents in the corners seem to be having fun right now because it’s not legal,” Kind said. After the inglorious last season, the club announced that the association’s fines would be included in the pricing of the tickets.