Football fan protests
“At some point it’s good. We suffer extremely from it.”
Status: 17.02.2024 | Reading time: 3 minutes
The Bundesliga games are once again paralyzed by parts of the fan scene. Dortmund’s captain hopes that the annoying interruptions will end soon. That could actually happen, a new vote on the DFL investor is getting closer.
Borussia Dortmund captain Emre Can wants an end to the fan protests in German football stadiums. “Without the fans, football wouldn’t be what it is, everyone knows that. But if I’m allowed to express my opinion, I think it’s a good thing at some point. We suffer extremely from it and lose our rhythm. That’s why I hope it will end soon,” said the national player on Sky on Saturday after the 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga at VfL Wolfsburg.
VfL Wolfsburg’s duel with Borussia Dortmund was temporarily interrupted because fans threw tennis balls onto the grass in protest against the entry of an investor into the German Football League (DFL). The DFL wants to collect one billion euros from a financial investor for a percentage share of the TV revenue. When the 36 professional clubs voted on the deal, the necessary two-thirds majority was only barely achieved. Since then, the voting behavior of Hanover’s majority shareholder Martin Kind, who was instructed by his club to vote against entry, has been under discussion. It is unclear whether his vote may have secured the necessary majority.
Referee Patrick Ittrich tries to catch a tennis ball
Source: dpa/Swen Pförtner
Dortmund’s sports director Sebastian Kehl described the ongoing protests as “not beneficial for everyone involved in the long term.” You have to take fears and worries seriously, you live in a democracy. “We just have to get to a point again at some point where we enter into dialogue and solve the problem. Because I don’t know how things will continue in this form. It’s not fun for many spectators in the stadium, nor for the players – and the game suffers as a result,” said Kehl.
Sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth from VfB Stuttgart also sees it that way. “The fact is that this has to end at some point,” said the 44-year-old after the Swabians’ 2-1 (1-0) win at SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday. The game was interrupted there for around 18 minutes: “Today the fans once again vehemently emphasized that they are against investors getting involved,” said Wohlgemuth. “On the other hand, the DFL must prepare us, the Bundesliga, for the challenges of the future. Of course it’s a fine line.”
“We as the Presidium cannot say that we will vote again”
In fact, the chances that the protests could be successful are increasing. In any case, DFL executive committee member Axel Hellmann is not generally against a new vote on the entry of an investor. “If a new motion is brought to the general meeting to vote on the matter again, we will have to deal with it,” said the Eintracht Frankfurt board spokesman on the sidelines of the 53rd Ball des Sports in Frankfurt. However, Hellmann reiterated that the executive committee of the German Football League itself could not initiate this: “As the executive committee, we cannot simply ignore a vote. We as the Presidium cannot say we will vote again.”
Hellmann is not surprised that the fan protests against investor involvement are continuing and have also led to game interruptions this weekend. Nor is it that a number of Bundesliga clubs subsequently advocate for a new vote. “It doesn’t surprise me because they didn’t communicate optimally before and were chasing the music,” said Hellmann. “I don’t think it’s all that wild. But football is a dynamic, breathing cosmos.”
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But we now have to get together with the organized fans to talk about things: “We have to get out of the impasse. This is a situation that doesn’t bring joy.”