Saxony-Anhalt
Neo-Nazi club spreads fear and terror: DSG Eintracht Gladau continues to take part in the game
The club emblem of the DSG Eintracht Gladau: “This judgment shows how difficult it is to fight extremism”
© Screenshot Facebook
The district league club from Gladau in Saxony-Anhalt has been infiltrated by right-wing extremists for years, and there have been violent incidents on and off the pitch during games. Nevertheless, the exclusion from the game failed.
For the association it was proven that Eintracht Gladau was firmly in the hands of neo-Nazis. Several incidents of violence are said to have occurred during games, and Hilter salutes are said to have been shown when Bengalos ran away. But there was apparently no solid evidence to sanction Gladau. The FSA had presented a whole folder with social media entries and witness statements, but that was not enough for the association court because it was only circumstantial evidence, not evidence.
Fear of right-wing extremists is great in Jerichower Land
The chairman of the association court, Frank Knuth, is uncomfortable with the verdict: “Privately, I would have liked nothing more than that,” he said. Holger Stahlknecht, President of the FSA and former Interior Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, was equally frustrated. “This verdict shows how difficult it is to fight extremism,” said the CDU politician in a statement from the association: “The Saxony-Anhalt Football Association will continue to maintain a hard line in order to prevent damage to the clubs and the football association . We owe this to a robust democracy and also to the reputation of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.”
In the evidence, the FSA presented, among other things, a letter from an association that had asked for police escort before the encounter with Gladau last September. It says: “Unfortunately, no one dares to do anything. The referees, the Jerichower Land district football association and the club members are afraid of the potential consequences that they will face from players and members of the DSG Eintracht Gladau. The injured parties exclude being named. because they are too afraid of receiving uninvited visitors at night.”
The fear of right-wing extremists is great in Jerichower Land. In a report by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk from the beginning of the year, all witnesses only wanted to speak anonymously. “I think behind it is the fear, but perhaps also the experience, that Dennis Wesemann’s arm can be long under certain circumstances. (…) You can’t avoid each other in this area.”
A well-known neo-Nazi has brought the club under control
The right-wing extremist Dennis Wesemann is at the center of the events surrounding the DSG. The member of the Magdeburg hooligan group Blue White Street Elite (BWSE, now banned) once founded the club FC Ostelbien Dornburg and turned it into a gathering place for neo-Nazis – until the club was banned. As a result, Wesemann, who earns his money by selling clothing for neo-Zazis and hools (Uglyshirt87), looked for a new football club in the region – and joined DSG Eintracht Gladau in 2016 – without much resistance.
Since then, Wesemann has brought Eintracht under his control. According to “MDR” research, his brother Paul Wesemann is also a member of the club, and cousin Max Kuckuck is chairman. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution confirmed that several right-wing extremists are playing for Gladau. Men from the relevant environment regularly show up to the games.
In the statement after the verdict, which the club published on its Facebook page, it portrayed itself as an innocent victim. Allegedly, children of club members were excluded and spat on, and the media practiced “lies” and “macabre framing.” It is said that there was “not a single (red) card for extremist, racist or homophobic” insults.
Sources: DPA,”MDR“, “Deutschlandfunk“, “taz“, “Frankfurter Rundschau“