Fans and police in a duel: no solution in sight

Fans and police in a duel: no solution in sight

Brute force at St. Pauli, pepper spray in Bochum, arrests in Stuttgart: the renewed escalation in the ongoing conflict between fans and police has once again left German soccer perplexed and angry.

These are "disturbing impressions that severely damage soccer and fan culture and will hopefully not lead to further escalations", said St. Pauli's president Oke Göttlich after the violent clashes at Hamburg's Millerntor, in which at least 32 people were injured.

Supporters of Hannover 96 and police officers first clashed in the stands, then fans of second division leaders FC St. Pauli clashed with police officers after the match. The initial result: 15 injured fans and 17 injured police officers. A day later, the police in Bochum used pepper spray against Cologne fans. On the same day in Stuttgart, the police took eleven VfB fans into custody because they allegedly refused to accept being sent off.

DFB investigates

Last week, a police officer was seriously injured during the derby between Hanover and Braunschweig. The German Football Association is investigating the incidents in Bochum and St. Pauli, as the DFB confirmed to the German Press Agency. The fact that eleven people were injured at the Bundesliga match in Augsburg by a firework thrown from the area of the visiting fans from Hoffenheim further fueled the discussion about safety in German stadiums.

The relationship between police and fans is tense. "The situation is deadlocked, a solution in a kind of fan-police dialog is unfortunately unrealistic," said fan representative Dario Minden from the "Unsere Kurve" alliance when asked by dpa: "On the fan side, there are no representation structures at all and certainly often no interest in a dialog at all, while on the other side there is a police force that often acts unlawfully."

"We're not dealing with fan culture here"

The police see it differently. "We're not dealing with fan culture here, but with violent criminals," said Hamburg's police chief Falk Schnabel. Fanhilfe Hannover described the deployment of the security forces in the Millerntor Stadium as "disproportionate", and some fans of the opposing team also showed solidarity with the 96 fans and started chanting against the officers.

The police justified the operation in the visitors' block by stating that "a male person had obviously been seriously attacked". They stated that they had gone into the block to "prevent worse". The police were then attacked by 96 fans. In some cases there were brawls and cups and sticks were thrown.

The police used pepper spray on the visiting fans, which was later criticized. The match was interrupted for around five minutes. One fan had to be treated in hospital. One police officer suffered multiple fractures.

Criticism from fan representatives

"I can't imagine under what conditions it would be a smart idea to storm into a full block of soccer fans. Escalation is inevitable," said fan representative Minden. "We have never seen such an orgy of violence by the police at soccer matches," said a spokesman for Fanhilfe Hannover. The German Police Union in Hamburg, on the other hand, criticized the "violent attacks" against the officers "in the strongest terms".

Criticism of an "excessive police operation" was also voiced on Saturday evening by the Cologne fan support group after officers assisted the stewards at the entrance to the Bochum stadium. According to the police, supporters of Cologne's "problem fan scene" are said to have exerted great pressure. Pepper spray was also used "briefly".

Fan researcher: More police also provokes more violence

Fan researcher Gunter Pilz had already questioned the purpose of the massive police presence after the violent riots at the Lower Saxony clash between Hannover and Eintracht Braunschweig a week ago. "More police does not ensure more security. On the contrary: more police also provokes more violence," the 78-year-old sports sociologist told the "Braunschweiger Zeitung".

The conflict between police and fans is not a new phenomenon. Both sides accuse each other of being responsible for the escalation. According to Jonas Gabler, a fan researcher like Pilz, the conflict has intensified in recent years. "It hasn't gotten better, but rather worse," he said back in March of this year.

At the time, Gabler told the German Press Agency that the massive police presence left fans with the feeling that the police were not taking a differentiated approach.

Fan representative Minden takes a similar line: "Yes, there is a problem with violence at soccer matches. It's a complex problem, and unfortunately there are no simple solutions. Unfortunately, as an active soccer fan, you often get the feeling that the police are not part of the solution, but part of the problem."

Wir verurteilen die Gewaltattacken gegen unsere Kolleginnen u. Kollegen auf das Schärfste u. wünschen allen Verletzten gute Besserung sowie eine schnelle u. vollständige Genesung. Immer wieder wird insbesondere der Fußball als Gewaltbühne missbraucht, das muss ein Ende haben.

— DPolG Hamburg (@DPolGHH) November 11, 2023

1. The clash between FC St. Pauli fans and police officers in the stands of the Millerntor Stadium during a Bundesliga 2 match resulted in 15 injured fans and 17 injured police officers.
2. Gunter Pilz, a fan researcher, questioned the purpose of the massive police presence after the violent riots at the Lower Saxony clash between Hannover and Eintracht Braunschweig, stating that "more police does not ensure more security, on the contrary: more police also provokes more violence."
3. The German Football Association (DFB) is investigating the incidents in Bochum and St. Pauli, as well as the serious injury of a police officer during the derby between Hanover and Braunschweig.
4. The police in Hanover were criticized for their deployment during the millerntor Stadium match, with some fans of the opposing team showing solidarity with the 96 fans and starting to chant against the officers.
5. The conflict between police and fans in German soccer has intensified in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of being responsible for the escalation. According to fan researcher Jonas Gabler, the situation is "deadlocked" and a solution through fan-police dialogue is "unrealistic."

Source: www.dpa.com