In Munich, the interior minister and football leaders debate violence in and around stadiums. Some politicians are considering tougher sanctions. Fans are absent from the meeting – and criticize.
More stadium bans, the closure of entire stands, personalized tickets and tougher entry controls: the proposals with which some politicians are tackling the issues of violence and security in German football are far-reaching and make fans shudder. The meeting between German interior ministers and the heads of the DFB and DFL on Friday in Munich is therefore heavily criticized by supporters and even some clubs. They accuse politics of populism on the backs of the fans.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, as host of the summit, won’t let that stand. The CSU politician describes that more crimes have recently been registered around football games in the top three leagues in Germany than before the Corona phase. “It’s not dramatic yet, but unfortunately things are moving in that direction.”
Herrmann for more consistent stadium bans and fan exclusions
That’s why Herrmann, as chairman of the Sports Ministers’ Conference, invited his departmental colleagues from other federal states to Munich. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) was also scheduled to attend, but canceled her participation at short notice due to discussions in the Bundestag. The leaders of the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) will also arrive at the airport for the discussion. The fact that politicians did not want any fan representatives at the summit fueled concerns among supporters that sometimes draconian decisions could be made over their heads.
According to MDR, Bavaria, Hamburg, Saxony and Lower Saxony have already made concrete demands on football. Among other things, a central office at the DFB will be responsible for stadium bans in the future – so far this has been a matter for the club. As the broadcaster reported on the eve of the conference with reference to a position paper from the four state ministries, stands in the stadium will in future be allowed to be closed to fans as a preventive measure, for example if clubs do not offer satisfactory fan work or the game is classified as a risky game. There will also be personalized entry tickets to make it easier to identify perpetrators in the future. And pyrotechnics offenses should be punished more harshly.
Host Herrmann uses other leagues in Europe, such as Serie A in Italy, as an example. “If things have escalated and there have been serious security violations, then a club has to play with a significantly reduced number of spectators or without their own fans for the next away or home game,” he said in an interview with the German Press Agency.
“I don’t want that. But we have to talk about why such measures only exist in other European countries. Likewise with the issue of stadium bans: If these have an effect in other countries, why are they not applied in Germany so well as not at all? ” asked the Bavarian. He hopes that clubs will “implement stadium bans more consistently” and that there will be initial results at the summit.
Does politics intervene?
If clubs and leagues show a lack of understanding or even shy away from ultras, then political consequences cannot be ruled out. Herrmann emphasized that he did not want to make any threats, but added: “Of course politicians and the security authorities have a responsibility, that is the case with every large, public event.”
In particular, the burning of beacons or smoke pots is a very big danger for spectators. “I don’t assume that any of these chaotic people are aiming to massively injure other people,” Herrmann recently told “Sport Bild”. “But when igniting pyrotechnics in places where spectators are crowded together and wearing highly flammable clothing, it must be clear to anyone in their right mind how quickly even a bystander can become a human torch in the stadium and endanger their lives “We’re lucky that this hasn’t happened yet.”
Fans horrified: “voters take precedence over expertise”
So can tougher penalties prevent pyrotechnic scandals in the future? No, says fan lawyer René Lau. “No perpetrator thinks about not committing this act because it is no longer punished with a fine but with a prison sentence,” he told the dpa. “They can increase the penalties as much as they want: this means that not one less torch will be burned.”
The interest group “Our Curve” said: “To be honest, we have no expectations of the top-level discussion. Politicians from Bremen, Lower Saxony, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have made it very clear through recent statements that it is about populism and not about content. Voters’ votes before expertise.”
The umbrella organization of fan aids fears a one-sided picture of the situation. In an open letter to Faeser it was said that fans were “seen as a security risk and described a dangerous situation during football games that does not correspond to reality.”
Regarding the criticism that no fans were invited to the meeting, Herrmann explained with a comparison: “The security concept for the Oktoberfest is discussed between the police and the state capital Munich without asking millions of visitors how they would like it. That is the task of security authorities.”
