"Fanbase Expresses Frustration": Audience Growing Tired
Last week's security summit focusing on " Football Violence" concluded unexpectedly peacefully. Interestingly, those under scrutiny weren't present. Following a week of quietness, fan support groups are now up in arms, threatening to withdraw from discussions.
The fan support group's collective body has strongly rebuked the security summit involving politics and associations. Linda Röttig, a board member, expressed her dismay: "We're astonished by the statements from last Friday. It turned into a contest of misleading statements and untruths on the public stage." She further added, "The manner of proceedings and the direction it's heading is completely unacceptable to us and demands an immediate turnaround."
The organization was equally taken aback by the minsters of sport and interior's one-sided view. "Unfortunately, there was no mention of the excessive force used by the police over the past year. Neither the hundreds of fans injured due to police violence, nor the police's own statistics justify the current project," they stated, referring to the intense repression and confrontations during the 2023/2024 season.
"When truth is ignored"
It started in August 2023 with a police officer firing a service weapon during the game between Augsburg and Gladbach. This was during a water fight, they claimed. The bullet missed the police officer and hit a bus with Gladbach fans. The officer was given a suspended sentence in August. Throughout the season, there were numerous other escalations. On several occasions, the police used pepper spray against fans.
A "riot of violence" by the Hamburg police during the game between FC St. Pauli and Hannover 96 in November 2023 sparked outrage. In February 2024, the federal police detained hundreds of HSV fans in a regional train and subjected them to inhumane conditions after a game against Hansa Rostock.
During the conference, which lacked fan representatives' voices, "it became clear that under current circumstances, cooperation with politics and associations is not possible, neither today nor tomorrow," Röttig continued. "When truth is ignored and baseless claims go unchallenged, a point is reached where even an open-minded dialogue is no longer conceivable." They perceive the announcements as repressive measures against football fans.
"Attack on fan culture"
Following a meeting between federal state interior ministers, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf, and DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, the establishment of a central stadium ban commission was announced, among other things. Until now, individual clubs have considered each case independently and decided accordingly. In the future, stadium bans will be imposed as soon as an investigation begins.
Additionally, a permanent joint commission on stadium security with football and political representatives is to be established. Fan representatives will also attend this commission. Pyrotechnics remain strictly prohibited.
The measures aim to "restrict fan rights and eliminate fan culture as we know it today," the umbrella organization stated. "Since the upper echelons of the association support this direct attack on fan culture, the clubs now have to choose a side," said Röttig. "They either support their fans or back a populist approach." The umbrella organization of fan support groups pledged to "fight back with all its might against this direction," as its "sole goal is confrontation with its own supporters in the stadium."
The Commission has announced the establishment of a central stadium ban commission, aiming to restrict fan rights and eliminate fan culture. This move has been strongly rebuked by the fan support group, who perceive it as an attack on their culture and a directive for clubs to choose between supporting fans or endorsing populist approaches.
Following the establishment of the central stadium ban commission, the manner in which the discussion about fan safety and culture has been handled by the Commission has become a point of contention for the fan support group. They believe that current proceedings ignore truth and baseless claims go unchallenged, making an open-minded dialogue no longer conceivable.
