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Banners from BVB fans in March 2020
Photo:
Bernd Thissen / dpa
Hoffenheim's longtime patron Dietmar Hopp has withdrawn three criminal charges in his ongoing dispute with Borussia Dortmund football fans.
The club confirmed this.
In January 2019, the Sinsheim District Court sentenced the BVB supporters to a fine of 70 daily rates.
Because an appeal was filed, the case has since been with the District Court of Heidelberg.
First, the "kicker" and ntv reported on the process on Thursday, which the club did not want to comment on.
»That is a very clear sign of peace, of balance, of harmony.
At least as far as the cases of the accused are concerned.
We need signs like this in German football more than ever," said fan researcher Harald Lange from the University of Würzburg in an interview with ntv.de: "This agreement sends signals to both sides.
They are now responsible.
And have to continue working with these signals.«
Hopp, who is the majority owner at TSG, has been at odds with some Borussia fans for many years, who repeatedly insulted him on banners and in chants during games between the two clubs.
At the Sinsheim district court, there were always procedures that were partially stopped against monetary payments.
BVB fans' lawyers argued that insulting chants are common in football stadiums and accepted as part of fan culture.
The 81-year-old Hopp has been an enemy in many fan circles ever since he made huge investments in his hometown club in 2008 to promote it to professional football.
In the first duel with BVB, a crosshairs poster with Hopps' likeness and the words »Hasta la Vista, Hopp!« could be seen in the stadium.
Ten years later, the crosshairs poster was seen again when the two clubs met.
As a result, the DFB sports court imposed a two-year ban on Dortmund fans playing in Hoffenheim in February 2020.
However, this punishment hardly had an effect due to the corona pandemic and the associated ghost games.
After that DFB verdict, there were further actions against the decision and thus also against Hopp in many Bundesliga stadiums.
In March 2020, the TSG game against Bayern Munich was interrupted twice because abusive posters against the entrepreneur could be seen.
With the verdict, the DFB broke its promise to refrain from collective penalties in the future, according to a statement on the fan portal suedcurve-muenchen.org.
Fan representatives argued that Hopp was being attacked as a symbol, not as a person.
It's about collective penalties and 50+1, i.e. the excessive influence of investors in the clubs.
mon/dpa
