An insulting poster - and suddenly it stops. The DFB is following a new line in the fight against exclusion. FC Bayern and TSG Hoffenheim are setting an unprecedented signal.
Sinsheim (dpa) - FC Bayern Munich shone sportily in Sinsheim for over an hour - then the overwhelming 6: 0 (4: 0) became a minor matter.
Trainer Hansi Flick, the professionals around the angry David Alaba and Serge Gnabry and board member Oliver Kahn stood in the pouring rain in front of their own fan curve and influenced the fans. What happened?
THE EKLAT: One banner was enough and referee Christian Dingert interrupted the game for the first time. FC Bayern fans held up banners against Hoffenheim's patron Dietmar Hopp, the wording of which was deeply offensive. In principle, they wanted to protest against the reintroduced DFB collective penalty against the fans of Borussia Dortmund, who had been banished due to insults against the Hoffenheimer. Hopp was the target again. Bayern hurried to the curve, gesturing wildly at fans one to hang the poster. It worked - but only temporarily. The next banner was unveiled ten minutes later, and Dingert whistled again.
THE CONSEQUENCES: This time the intervention of the Bavarians did not stop there. Dingert sent both teams into the cabin. Before the curve, several professionals and ex-keeper Kahn tried again and emotionally to influence their own fans. In the cabin wing, further action was discussed, and Hopp and Bavaria's chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had also arrived in the catacombs.
THE SIGN: After a break of almost 20 minutes, the teams returned to the grass. But soccer was not really played anymore, instead the teams showed what they thought of the fan action in their own way. Demonstratively they pushed the ball back and forth while Hopp and Rummenigge stood next to the lawn and applauded just like most fans. After the game, Hoffenheim and Bayern pros went into the hosts' corner with Hopp. Manuel Neuer and Co. did not visit their own fans that afternoon.
THE REACTIONS: Rummenigge called the events "a black day for football", he called "clear edge" against such fans. "We have to act boldly and not always duck away," warned the Munich CEO. DFL boss Christian Seifert said: "The permanent hostility against Dietmar Hopp has long been unacceptable and must be condemned severely. We have had a sad climax in this regard today." Any kind of hatred should have no place. Similar statements were heard in the other Bundesliga stadiums. The case will keep German football busy for a long time.
THE FANS: The causers of the scandal showed no insight. A statement published online said: "If you want to stop or interrupt football matches whenever such insults are expressed in the bleachers, you will no longer be able to play a game over 90 minutes. The interruption today was simply excessive and absurd. " However, the action made it clear once again how heterogeneous the German fan scene is. In the previous week, some Gladbach supporters had noticed Hopp insults, and they had whistled from other areas of the stadium.
THE BACKGROUNDS: Hopp has been the target of harsh criticism from various fan groups for years. The 79-year-old billionaire and co-founder of the SAP group has turned the Hoffenheim village association into a Bundesliga club and European Cup participant with his private assets. For the hard core of some fan groups, it is therefore a symbol of commercialization like only the Red Bull Club RB Leipzig. Without Hopp's money, the professional club TSG Hoffenheim would not exist. In the Rhine-Neckar region, Hopp is considered a sponsor and has received multiple awards for his social commitment.
THE FOLLOW-UP: The DFB sports court will deal with the misconduct of Bayern fans, and there were also brief interruptions at the games in Dortmund and Cologne due to swaggering songs and hate posters against Hopp. The clubs are therefore punished. However, the question of how certain fan groups that had previously announced such an action against Hopp and the collective penalties in advance will react to the novelty of Saturday in the coming weeks will be much more exciting. The German Football Association and the German Football League are facing the next protracted conflict with some fans.
Squad TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
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Matchday 24
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