Football fans have continued their protests against the German Football Association (DFB) with new banners and banners. The posters on this matchday showed above all clear criticism of collective penalties, the implementation of the so-called three-step plan and various officials in German professional football – in addition to occasional insults, the posters and banners were sometimes very creative, ranging from the Bundesliga to the lower leagues.
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Many supporters raised the issue of the alleged double standards of those involved, which the protests of the fans last weekend had described as “ugly faces of football” (Karl-Heinz Rummenigge). In several stadiums, for example, corruption in football associations and the obvious looking away from human rights violations by the upcoming World Cup host Qatar 2022 by German football officials were the subject of criticism.
In the game against 1899 Hoffenheim, Schalke fans criticized their club’s handling of the posters, which had last been directed against Hoffenheim’s patron and billionaire Dietmar Hopp. They cited the statements made by Schalke’s Clemens Tönnies in August last year, in which he had made racist comments about Africans – but without that it had far-reaching consequences. They contrasted this with a quote from a Schalke communication regarding the abuse against Dietmar Hopp, in which it was said that Schalke would not tolerate trivialization.
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The background to the protests is the ongoing conflict between the DFB and fans, which had reached a new high on the previous Bundesliga match day. The game in Sinsheim almost came to an end when fans of FC Bayern Munich insulted Dietmar Hopp with posters. The DFB leadership and club officials had strongly condemned the behavior of the supporters. A special session of the AG fan culture with representatives of the DFB and German Football League (DFL) on Thursday brought little reassurance. The association “Fan Scenes in Germany” had announced further protests, in the worst case even provocations up to the termination of the game. The DFB had announced that, according to a so-called three-stage plan, games would also be canceled in the event of a multiple interruption due to insults by spectators.
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The trigger for the posters on the previous day was a decision by the DFB sports court. This had lifted a probation for fans of Borussia Dortmund because of continuing insulting posters against Hoffenheim’s patron Dietmar Hopp and excluded all BVB supporters from compulsory games of their club in Sinsheim for the next two years. Collective punishments of this kind, which the DFB and then President Reinhard Grindel considered to be abolished in 2017, have met with strong rejection in the fan scene.
Jena almost broken off around 1860
For this reason, there were protests from fans at the 2nd and 3rd league games. The third division match between FC Carl Zeiss Jena and 1860 Munich was even close to being canceled. Referee Florian Exner interrupted the game twice because in the block of home fans shortly after the kick-off, posters against the DFB and Dietmar Hopp were shown. After briefly ordering both teams into the cabins and finally rolling up the banners, the referee continued the encounter after a break of almost 15 minutes.
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It remained open whether the interruption of the game in Jena was absolutely necessary after the DFB had announced on Friday that insulting and grossly unsportsmanlike criticism in the fan block is also possible without the referees having to intervene.
In the stadiums there were also posters with a twinkle in the eye: “Max Mustermann Du Hurensohn” or “Sieg or Hopp-Poster” could be read there. The previously feared game cancellations did not take place on Saturday.
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