Bundesliga ex-Leverkusen managing director
Fan protests are “pubescent behavior”
Status: 09.02.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
“Without an investor, Hertha would be dead as a stone”
Hertha BSC fans protested against the German Football League’s investor plans with a never-ending rain of tennis balls. The game was suspended for more than half an hour. BILD’s deputy sports director Walter M. Straten classifies what is happening.
Long-time official Wolfgang Holzhäuser considers the protest of many fans against an investor in the DFL to be excessive. From his point of view, the disruptors could be held liable. His suggestions are unlikely to be met with much approval from many fans.
Long-time football official Wolfgang Holzhäuser considers the ongoing fan protests against investors in the German Football League (DFL) to be “adolescent behavior by a relatively small group”. The 74-year-old said that an attempt was being made to overrule a silent majority. “That is not in the spirit of the basic democratic order, and I have a problem with that. This disruption to the games is off topic,” said the former managing director of Bayer Leverkusen to the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. In principle, the protest is legitimate, but not the manner.
“The DFL and DFB have to think about how things should proceed. One day it will get to the point where those who cause such disruptions will be held liable and will demand compensation from them,” said Holzhäuser.
Wolfgang Holzhäuser was DFL President in 2007
Source: picture alliance/augenklick/firo Sportphoto/Kai Schwörer
In December of the previous year, the 36 first and second division clubs voted with the required two-thirds majority for a strategic partnership between the DFL and an external investor. This should pay one billion euros for a percentage share of the TV revenue. The DFL is currently still negotiating with two interested parties.
Tennis balls keep flying
Numerous fans protest against this, primarily by throwing objects such as tennis balls onto the field. Several games in the Bundesliga and the 2nd league were recently interrupted as a result. Most recently, fans of 1. FC Union disrupted the aftermath of the game in Mainz and caused the game to be interrupted. Holzhäuser therefore advocates personalized admission tickets and the use of body scanners.
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He couldn’t really understand the fans’ arguments. This also applies to “the populist statements of some club representatives,” said Holzhäuser. “The DFL’s conditions in the tenders are so restrictive that I can no longer really understand the concerns of individual clubs.”