Another tennis ball on the court would probably have been enough. The fans’ protest against the planned investor entry into the DFL continues to intensify. The end of the conflict seems open.
The first game in the first or second Bundesliga seems only a matter of time. As the dispute over the planned investor entry into the DFL continues to escalate, the fans in the stadiums have given further clear signs of a demonstration of power. One more tennis ball on the lawn of the Alte Försterei and the game between 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg would have ended prematurely. It was similarly close this time in Mönchengladbach and Hamburg.
Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac said he understands protests and demonstrations: “But I think at some point we should find a common way to stop it.”
The encounter in Berlin was interrupted for a total of over half an hour because of the tennis balls on the lawn. “We can’t play 30 minutes longer every time,” said Kovac. “How else are they supposed to show it? They are trying to generate attention, which is their right,” commented VfL captain Maximilian Arnold on the protests. The understanding is (still) there, but not with everyone anymore.
Fan camp united in the fight against the DFL
Actions such as crosshair posters on Friday evening at Hannover 96’s game at Hamburger SV could also further change the atmosphere between fans and the actual main actors. “We always hear that football belongs to the fans,” said Hanover coach Stefan Leitl: “But football also belongs to us footballers. And we love this sport too.” Fair protest is okay. “Please stop doing anything else in our stadiums.”
Further escalation was inevitable. After the German Football League offered to talk, the organized fans reacted with a clear statement and described a new vote on the entry of an investor as having no alternative. “The longer the protests are ignored, the more united we will be in calling for a new vote,” warn the organized fans.
They did exactly that, especially in the An der Alten Försterei stadium. The two fan camps stuck together at the beginning of the boycott, they shouted slogans at each other and also played a bit of a one-two when throwing the tennis ball. First they flew from the Union ranks, then from the VfL block.
“Everyone has their point of view. I don’t want to say anything more about it,” said Union professional Robin Knoche. He didn’t reveal what his situation was like, but he responded with a touch of humor: “I need a few more tennis balls, I’ll just take them with me.”
Fan spokesman: “Protest that doesn’t hurt isn’t a protest”
The question is when who will finally stop laughing. There is no solution to the conflict in sight, the fans feel encouraged by the great public impact. “Protest that doesn’t hurt isn’t a protest. Now it hurts a little bit, but also in a figurative sense. Because a football game is being interrupted. No one is hurt, no one is hurt, no one is harmed,” said the spokesman for the fan umbrella organization “Our curve”, Thomas Kessen, on RTL/ntv.
The previous week, HSV’s second division game at Hertha BSC was interrupted for a long time, and on Wednesday last week the Unioner’s match at FSV Mainz 05. Borussia Mönchengladbach’s game against Darmstadt 98 on Saturday was stopped for several minutes, and in the meantime it was also played in Augsburg , where FCA played against RB Leipzig, was not played. Before the top game between leaders Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern, bouncy balls and camels were thrown onto the lawn, and the kick-off was delayed.
“The message came across very, very clearly”
With banners like “Private equity locusts without influence?” or “DFL-certified investors: Financed by Saudi blood money” Union Berlin fans underlined their position. Tennis balls are not a crime, they also shouted. “The message arrived very, very clearly,” emphasized stadium spokesman Christian Arbeit, who is also the Berliner’s head of communications, via the outside microphone. In another announcement he said: “We are so, so close to not being able to continue playing this game.”
The fans threw the ball at the DFL’s feet with force, but still held back a few reserves. Bayern Munich’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen does not believe that even more intense fan protests would be effective. If the aim of individuals is to influence games using “unfair means”, he takes note of this: “But that will not change the fundamental attitude of the majority of the 36 Bundesliga clubs,” he told “Welt am Sonntag”.
Hanover’s sports director calls on the DFL to take action
However, the majority that voted for the billion-dollar investment by an investor last December was very close to the necessary two-thirds majority. Particular attention was paid to Hanover’s majority shareholder Martin Kind, who had been instructed by the parent club to vote against it. It is unclear whether he did this.
Augsburg’s managing director Michael Ströll is surprised that the issue is currently so much in the foreground, after clubs such as Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart recently spoke out in favor of a new vote. He asks himself: “Everyone who is calling for a new vote tomorrow, why didn’t they call for a new vote six weeks ago? You have to compare populism and fact-orientedness.”
The mutual accusations could increase even further. “We have to get this issue under control,” demanded Hanover’s sports director Marcus Mann. “The DFL must take a stand on this.” Things cannot continue like this in the long term. “We’re destroying too much.”