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Supporters of Werder Bremen draw attention to the police action at the away game in Wolfsburg with a poster
Photo: Carmen Jaspersen / dpa
In a policy paper, the umbrella organization for fan aid in Germany spoke out against a "massive presence of the police in and around the stadiums" and criticized measures such as police cauldrons and the data collection in the "Violent Sport" file.
The catalog of demands that SPIEGEL has received comprises five points and was approved at a meeting of the 22 fan aids in Hanover.
According to Oliver Wiebe from Fanhilfe Magdeburg, the driving force was a series of incidents that occurred after the supporters returned after being excluded from the stadiums due to the pandemic.
"The start was very eventful for many fan scenes and sometimes marked by drastic experiences," spokesman Wiebe told SPIEGEL.
»The expansion of the use of drones at the stadiums by the state police and surveillance on the Internet has led us to want to speak out loudly for freedom and civil rights.«
Association complains about "burning" of tax money
The umbrella organization denounces the burning of millions of taxpayers' money for the use of police forces.
"Football fans are not violent, they want to support their club," it says.
The police must therefore plan their operations more defensively.
Against the background of the sensational police operation against Werder Bremen fans on an away trip to Wolfsburg - there had been sweeping searches, many fans had left, the police later apologized for the operation - the umbrella organization is calling for a rethink.
"The fact that fans traveling to away games are not given the opportunity to go to the toilet, no freedom of movement and no supply options," many fans would know only too well, the paper says.
The police and judiciary must "end the arbitrary practice of police encirclement" and ensure that all fans can move freely on the day of the match and are not "put under general suspicion".
Individual identification required for police officers
"Football fans who have a valid ticket, a valid ticket for the game, are treated differently than visitors to a concert by Rod Stewart or Andrea Berg," says Wiebe: "It's an unbelievable injustice.
That creates frustration.«
The umbrella organization criticized the federal government in connection with the controversial “Violent Offenders Sport” file.
There had been efforts to initiate reform.
So far, however, nothing has happened.
They soon wanted to approach the deputies.
“The practice of disproportionate data collection must stop.” The file has existed since 1994 and is controversial because in the past people who did not appear to be violent were also included.
Furthermore, the association called for a labeling obligation with clear individualization for police officers.
In addition, you join the nationwide campaign »Stop chat control«.
