Rostock fans provoke with Lichtenhagen allusion
Lichtenhagen is not only a district of Rostock, but also the scene of massive racist attacks by right-wing extremists for days in August 1992. In the second division match against FC St. Pauli, Hansa fans display a huge banner alluding to the attacks 30 years ago.
When Hansa Rostock plays FC St. Pauli, two fan camps meet that largely dislike each other. The atmosphere in and around the Ostseestadion was correspondingly heated on Saturday afternoon, with the Kiez club securing a narrow 3:2 victory after a hard-fought 90 minutes. However, it was not so much the sporting action that caused a stir, but above all the large-scale choreography of the Hansa supporters before kick-off. "What looked spectacular turned out to be a racism scandal", wrote the WAZ, while the "Kicker" newspaper identified "at least one trivialization of xenophobic acts" - as is often the case in this northern duel.
A poster was spread across the entire block, with the words "Plattenbau Rostock" in front of it. On the one hand, this is the name of a fan group. And on the other hand, especially in connection with the depicted sunflower house in Rostock-Lichtenhagen, an allusion to the racially motivated attacks on that very house in August 1992.
Hundreds of rioters, including numerous right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis, had attacked the central reception center for asylum seekers and a hostel for former Vietnamese contract workers in the so-called Sunflower House for days. According to NDR, the attacks, which included Molotov cocktails, were met with applause and cheers from over 1,000 onlookers.
Hansa fans had already flirted with allusions to the pogrom in the past, for example in August 2022, on the fifth matchday of the previous season and shortly before the 30th anniversary of the attacks. "Which is why they are accused of sympathizing with, or at least trivializing, the xenophobic acts", as Kicker writes. While St. Pauli president Oke Göttlich took a public stance against it at the time and criticized the Rostock banner, FC Hansa Rostock failed to distance itself.
The symbolism now chosen in November 2023 seems correspondingly clear. Especially as dark smoke was still billowing out from under the block banner, as can be seen in photos from the stadium. The club was subsequently fined by the German Football Association for the banner displayed the previous year. It remains to be seen whether this similar behavior will have consequences this time as well.
The Hansa Rostock fans' use of a banner with "Plattenbau Rostock" and a sunflower house during their match against FC St. Pauli attracted controversy, as it was seen as an allusion to the racially motivated attacks in Lichtenhagen in 1992. Given the history of Hansa Rostock fans flirting with such allusions, their actions are being criticized for sympathizing with or trivializing xenophobic acts.
Source: www.ntv.de
