A Bundesliga club has, according to Bild: www.imago-images.de / imago images
“Pyroteeeeetechnics is not a crime! We will fight for it!”
This summer, hardly any halfway-decent football fan in this country could avoid these words on social media. Started as a viral hit from a random Tiktok clip by the so-called “Balcony Ultras”, the hype suddenly led to a Mallorca hit by Ikke Hüftgold and Marc Eggers. Even though pyrotechnics play a rather minor role in DFB games, the catchy lines could also be heard in many places during the European Championship.
The excitement surrounding the European Championships has now worn off and the topic of pyrotechnics is back in everyday life in the Bundesliga. In concrete terms, this means: To the chagrin of some ultras, pyrotechnics are still banned – and therefore a crime.
The fans of one team in particular are now feeling this brutally. Only rarely have clubs in Germany’s top division taken such harsh measures as RB Leipzig.
RB Leipzig takes away fans’ season tickets because of pyrotechnics
Despite a considerable stadium capacity of over 41,000 seats, Rasenballsport Leipzig has a small problem with empty seats at home games – probably also because of its lack of “tradition”. The club cannot count on a large fan scene, especially ultras.
For this reason in particular, those responsible are trying to find ways to get enough people excited about visiting the stadium. In this context, the club is also focusing primarily on casual visitors – and families.
Red Bull’s artificial club even prides itself on being family-friendly. Pyrotechnics don’t fit into this picture at all.
Watson is now on Whatsapp
Now on Whatsapp and Instagram: your watson update! We provide you here on Whatsapp with the watson highlights of the day. Only once a day – no spam, no blabla, just seven links. Promised! Would you rather be informed on Instagram? Here you can find our broadcast channel.
Like many other Bundesliga clubs, the club is struggling with fans and ultras who are fond of pyrotechnics. And of course other Bundesliga club leaders also have something against Bengalos and similar products. Nevertheless, the dangerous use of pyrotechnics, especially in Leipzig, does not fit in with the stadium concept at all.
Therefore, according to the “Bild” The maximum penalty has now been imposed on around 30 identified pyrotechnicians – and their season tickets for the new season have been revoked.
Bundesliga: Pyro from RB fans against Heidenheim and Frankfurt
According to the report, the focus is on two cases at the end of last season: an away game at FC Heidenheim at the end of April and the last match day in Frankfurt. In both cases, RB Leipzig fans set off pyrotechnics in their away blocks.
As a result, the smoke alarm on the video cube in the stadium in Frankfurt went off, which meant that the game had to be stopped. The DFB subsequently fined Leipzig 12,000 euros.
According to “Bild”, the club subsequently identified some of those involved with the help of video footage. The tough punishment: The DFB fine imposed on the rich club was passed on to the fans involved – and their season tickets were withdrawn.
The new fan newsletter will also say:
“There is still no room for pyrotechnics in our stadium and our away blocks. Using them in a fully occupied stadium is dangerous, harmful to health and prohibited. (…) We will continue to take consistent action against violations.”
The club also announced in April that it would not issue any new season tickets for the new season, despite tickets being returned and cancelled.
After the successful previous season, a lot has changed at VfB Stuttgart this summer. Sebastian Hoeneß, the father of success, has remained loyal to the traditional club, but he has lost several cornerstones of his team.
