Last February, posters against Dietmar Hopp caused a sensation in the game between Bayern and Hoffenheim. But was it all just staged?
A ZDFDocumentation suggests that the wave of outrage during and after the scandal game between FC Bayern Munich and 1899 Hoffenheim in the course of the fan abuse against Hoffenheim patron Dietmar Hopp was by no means a spontaneous reaction, but was rather staged.
When members of the Bayern ultra grouping Schickeria unrolled two posters on February 29, 2020 at a score of 6: 0 for the German record champions, on which TSG patron Hopp was insulted as a “son of a bitch”, this led to images that were before in the Bundesliga had not yet given.
An angry Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic ran furiously and wildly gesticulating into the fan curve of the Munich team, coach Hansi Flick did the same. Referee Christian Dingert interrupted the game, carried out the three-stage plan actually intended for cases of racism and discrimination, the players left the field and went into the catacombs.
Later, Hopp and FCB boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stood arm in arm on the lawn in the rain of Sinsheim, something of the Sports picture was named “Gesture of the Year”. The two teams pushed the ball back and forth for 13 minutes before the game was blown.
Rummenigge then spoke of a “black day” on which the “ugly face of football” had shown itself through the supporters of FC Bayern, because they had once again hurled insults and abuse at “the very fine man of honor” Hopp. DFB President Fritz Keller explained the events of February 29th in ZDF to a “low point” for German football.
FC Bayern informed Hoffenheim and Hopp about Ultra plans
The ZDF with the authors Jochen Breyer and Jürn Kruse in the documentary broadcast on Saturday “The Trial. How Dietmar Hopp became the hateful figure of the Ultras” (from 11.30 pm) the question of how spontaneous that wave of outrage and the reactions of those responsible really were at the time are. And in the course of the documentary, the suspicion is suggested that a large part of it resembled a production.
At least one of the interviewees came to this conclusion, Jan-Henrik Gruszecki, former BVB-Ultra and meanwhile advisor to Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke: “I think it was a play, a production,” says Gruszecki. Why he takes this point of view also becomes clear in the course of the film.
Because Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß, who speaks alongside lawyer Christoph Schickhardt for the Hopp side, reveals that all parties knew about the action by Bayern fans two days beforehand. At a celebration in the Löwenbräukeller on the occasion of the club’s 120th anniversary, he heard “something ringing” and told the ultras that “I can’t accept that at all”.
Then the FCB informed opponents Hoffenheim and thus also Hopp about the planned action. Hoeneß speaks of “direct contact” between the clubs in this matter. In addition, according to the ZDF, the DFB was also informed, which warned its referees. Also statements from SkyCommentator Kai Dittmann, who was extremely indignant about the action live on the microphone, suggest that precautions had already been taken before the game for fans to be absent.
During the usual check-up at the clubs before the game, Dittmann had listed in great detail the benefits of Hopp as a donor and sponsor. An attempted influence? “Yes, definitely,” says Dittmann ZDF.
DFB Vice President Koch wanted to “smash the ultra scene”
That day in Sinsheim was the culmination of a conflict between Ultras and Hopp, which has been smoldering since 2008 and which has been a symbol of commercialization in football for fans since the Kraichgauer were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2008. The accusation: Hopp bought a place in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim.
The conflict became quieter over the years, but took on a new dimension with the discussion about the abolition of collective fines for fans promised by the DFB under President Reinhard Grindel. After BVB fans reviled Hopp again in December 2019, the DFB stipulated that Dortmund fans would not be allowed to go to away games in Hoffenheim for three years.
A punishment, apparently in the spirit of DFB Vice President Rainer Koch, who, unlike Grindel, was in favor of the “Rule of Law” and, according to Grindel, even suggested smuggling undercover investigators from security companies into fan blocks and so “the ultra scene.” to smash “. Koch denies this, but Grindel speaks of a relationship with his deputy at the time that was “almost destroyed” by the association’s question of how to deal with the Ultras.
In addition to Koch, Grindel, Hoeneß, Hopp lawyer Schickhardt, who calls Hopp “a man of the people, the last real football fan” in the film, and BVB consultant Gruszecki, representatives of the Munich crowd also have their say, while Hopp himself does not speak with him ZDF speaks. The broadcaster also did not receive a filming permit for the stadium in Sinsheim.
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