Fans will not be present at the security summit organized by politicians, the DFB and the DFL. Fan lawyer René Lau fears that penalties will be tightened, which in his opinion will not achieve anything.
Fan lawyer René Lau fears negative consequences for fans in the stadiums ahead of the security summit between politicians and football representatives scheduled for Friday. «I fear the worst. Mr. Herrmann is in charge and that doesn’t bode well. When he puts forward his ideas, which he explained in an interview three weeks ago, and other interior ministers, especially from the states of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Saxony and Thuringia, jump on the bandwagon,” Lau told the German Press Agency.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has invited people to the summit in Munich. In an interview with “Sport Bild”, the CSU politician called for professional clubs to “massively distance themselves from violence and pyrotechnics” and threatened to play ghost games if football did not get the problem under control. Herrmann brought up the introduction of personalized tickets in the Bundesliga, increased stadium bans for rioters, game cancellations and point deductions for clubs.
On the other hand, a perpetrator will not be deterred by increased punishment. “No perpetrator thinks about not committing this act because it is no longer punished with a fine but with a prison sentence,” said Lau, “and they can increase the penalties as much as they want: that means not one less torch is burned .»
The lawyer also cites the DFB Cup final in Berlin as an example. “Every year there is a fire in both curves. As the organizer, the DFB cannot get a handle on what they are accusing fans and clubs of all year long.
Lau suggests a different approach: “Perhaps we shouldn’t increase the penalties, but rather get to the bottom of the matter.” Because solutions can only be found through discussions: “If everyone gives up a piece of their positions, then we will meet somewhere. Maybe that’s what a solution could look like.”
And that’s why the fans belong at the table for the Berlin lawyer. At the summit we don’t talk to the fans, but about the fans. Not inviting them is “usually the cardinal mistake of associations”.
dpa-infocom GmbH
