Before the home European Championship: stadium violence preoccupies politicians

Soccer - Before the home European Championship: stadium violence preoccupies politicians

The increasing number of fan riots at soccer matches has led to louder calls from politicians and the police for consequences and has also alarmed the German Football Association a good seven months before the home European Championship.

"We view the current developments with concern," the association told the German Press Agency when asked.

The issue of security will be on the minds of the interior ministers of the federal states at their regular conference in Berlin from Wednesday to Friday. The police in particular are hoping for clear signals and tougher measures. "We are calling on the IMK to discuss the dramatic development of violence by ultra groups in a separate agenda item and to define a joint approach against aggressive and violent ultra groups", said Jochen Kopelke, Chairman of the Police Union, to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

Frankfurt riots reverberate

Recently, there have been several massive riots at soccer matches. The sad highlight was the riots at the end of November at the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart, in which more than 200 people were injured.

"The outcome of the match shows that there is a threat of a loss of control in the arenas," said the sports policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Stephan Mayer, afterwards. He called for tough action by the public prosecutor's office and the police. "If we don't take consistent countermeasures here, real fans will no longer attend soccer matches in future - the violent criminals will have won," warned Mayer.

Fan representatives, on the other hand, criticized the "most massive police operation we have ever seen in the Waldstadion" and spoke of an "escalation strategy by the police". The police had acted "regardless of casualties, even among normal fans, women and children".

The accusation against the police: "With this excess of violence, they wanted to flex their muscles ahead of Euro 2024." Last weekend, fans protested in a number of stadiums from the Bundesliga to the 3rd division with sharply worded banners against police violence and for a ban on pepper spray in stadiums.

The fronts are currently hardening. Following the recent riots in Hanover and Hamburg, Hamburg's interior and sports senator Andy Grote has already called for consequences. "I think this is a situation that we cannot allow to continue," said the SPD politician.

Fan researcher Harald Lange, on the other hand, warned against tougher measures. "If hardliners get their way with the police, then we will indeed see an escalation. The idea of using law and order to tame a fan culture is doomed to failure," said the 55-year-old in a recent interview with Verlagsgruppe Rhein-Main. "Fan culture also thrives on crossing boundaries."

However, the police are no longer willing to accept this, as the emergency services are increasingly confronted with a hostile atmosphere. "We are currently experiencing a planned and coordinated hate campaign against us police officers in stadiums. The perpetrators of violence are engaging in a massive perpetrator-victim reversal, although some ultra groups are bringing hatred, incitement and violence into the stadiums," complained GdP boss Kopelke.

DFB relies on dialog before the European Championship

To prevent the situation from escalating, the DFB called on both sides to treat each other with respect. The association is interested in "prosecuting criminals, especially if they exploit soccer for their own purposes." However, there should be "no blanket criminalization of fans, just as there should be no prejudgement of police measures."

The German Football League called on all stakeholders to work towards "preserving soccer matches as safe and positive experiences in a great atmosphere". Any form of violence "is incompatible with the values of soccer, must be clearly condemned and has no place in the stadiums", the umbrella organization of professional clubs announced.

With a view to next summer's European Championship, the DFB is focusing primarily on a dialog between all parties involved. The aim is to "create the best possible conditions for an exciting, peaceful and safe tournament in our own country", according to the association.