Fan anger
Protests in the Bundesliga – longest interruption in Berlin
The game between 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg was interrupted for a long time after fans threw tennis balls onto the lawn. photo
© Andreas Gora/dpa
Tennis balls and other objects fly again. In the stadiums of the Bundesliga, fans are protesting against an investor joining the German Football League.
After the game started again, the visiting fans threw tennis balls – again the game had to be interrupted. After the restart, 21 minutes of injury time were shown in the first half. Borussia Mönchengladbach’s game against Darmstadt 98 was also interrupted for several minutes. In the meantime, there was no play in Augsburg, where FCA played against RB Leipzig.
The background is the resistance of some fan groups against the entry of an investor into the German Football League that has been simmering for months. Banners against the DFL could be seen again in several stadiums. “Sustainable growth instead of quick money” could be read in Augsburg, for example. In Berlin, a banner read: “Private equity locusts without influence? Don’t take us for fools.” In Mönchengladbach you could read: “No to the league investor!”
The DFL is currently considering offers from Blackstone and CVC. At its core, it is particularly about strengthening foreign marketing. The investor is expected to pay one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. Of the 36 professional clubs, a two-thirds majority voted to continue the talks; the narrow vote result is being questioned by organized fan groups.