First half ends after 5 p.m
The fan protests are escalating in the Alte Försterei in Berlin
February 10, 2024, 5:02 p.m
Tennis balls and other objects fly again. In the stadiums of the Bundesliga, fans are protesting against an investor joining the German Football League. In Berlin the game is on the verge of being abandoned.
The game between 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga was interrupted for a total of more than 30 minutes following fan protests. From the 27th minute, tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch by the Union supporters, and referee Matthias Jöllenbeck sent both teams to the dressing room.
After the game started again, the visiting fans threw tennis balls – again the game had to be interrupted. There was a threat of the game being abandoned. After the restart, 21 minutes of injury time were shown in the first half. At 5 p.m., 45 minutes after the first half was supposed to end, the teams were still not at halftime.
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.
Repeated interruptions in League 1 and 2
The background is the resistance of some fan groups against the entry of an investor into the German Football League (DFL) 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 protests, which had become increasingly intense over the past week, had caused an interruption of around 32 minutes in the top second division game Hertha BSC against Hamburger SV. The former Bundesliga dinosaur was also in focus yesterday Friday. His home game against Hannover 96 was overshadowed by a long break. The guests from the Lower Saxony metropolis escalated the protest and put the majority owner Martin Kind in the crosshairs. The Bundesliga game between Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg was also interrupted.
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.