Bundesliga - Fans do not want to accept DFL investor
Official agreement yes, fan acceptance no: with tennis balls, chocolate coins and large posters, organized fans across Germany have expressed their displeasure with an investor deal.
"We won't be part of your deal - Fuck the DFL!" read banners in the stadiums. Last Monday, the 36 professional clubs had given the German Football League the necessary majority to enter into concrete negotiations with a strategic marketing partner. Many supporters made it clear at the weekend that they will continue to oppose this.
Tennis balls in Bochum
In Bochum, VfL's match against 1. FC Union Berlin had to be interrupted. After twelve minutes, Union fans had thrown tennis balls and - in keeping with the pre-Christmas period - chocolate coins onto the pitch. The match only resumed after around four minutes when the pitch had been cleared. Bochum's attacking player Takuma Asano had meanwhile eaten a chocolate taler.
Chocolate coins also flew onto the pitch at the SV Darmstadt 98 match, but the game against VfL Wolfsburg was interrupted because pyrotechnics had been set off in the visitors' block. As elsewhere, fans did not just criticize the DFL. "Our vote should have prevented the DFL investor," read a poster from the Darmstadt fans. The promoted club had voted in favor of a deal.
Hoffenheim's managing director Alexander Rosen defended the planned investor entry on Sunday and appealed to the fans for more acceptance of it. "In principle, the active fan scene is well within its rights to show a counterpart quite demonstratively in the stadiums. On the other hand, you also have to accept to a certain extent that the league has to develop," Rosen said on "Bild-TV". A financial investor is to pay up to one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The contract is to have a maximum term of 20 years.
Other officials also took part in the debate. For them, the topic is a tricky one in terms of communication. On the one hand, they don't want to alienate their fans, while on the other, many of them see economic benefits from an investor's involvement. Many statements sound accordingly.
Fans fear for the future of soccer
"Both have their justification. The trick is to bring the two together," said VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß after the organized protest was announced by the "German fan scenes". On the one hand, it is about not losing touch with international soccer, but also not losing contact with the fans, who are "all-important". "It's a fine line." You have to listen very carefully to what the fans' concerns are.
Many supporters fear for the future of German soccer as they know it. They fear the influence of investors and accuse the DFL of greed. "A contract that is concluded over two decades opens a Pandora's box in the long term, which does not rule out further investors coming in - quite the opposite," reads a statement circulated by numerous ultra scenes.
In reference to the fans as the "12th man", it remained quiet in many Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 stadiums for the first twelve minutes. The fans then drew attention to themselves by chanting abuse or throwing objects onto the pitch. The second division match between SC Paderborn and Hansa Rostock even had to be interrupted twice on Friday. In addition, Rostock fans got into serious trouble.
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Source: www.stern.de
